Phalanx – the series
Episode thirty-eight: The Entity part one
When Darkness threatens to envelop all of creation, events are set in motion that will forever change the face of the omniverse.
The Entity’s green scales glowed purple in the light of the dying suns that once provided life to it. Closing its eyes, the Entity drew a deep breath of n-long existing air, before finally looking up to the strange spectacle once more. Deep inside, it realized what had happened, who was responsible, and what had to be done.
It is time; Time to hide the signature that has been my trademark, time to hide myself from those who have tried to destroy me by sending this Black Hole to do it for them. Time… Time to accomplish the mission the Overlord has left me in my birth-case, months and months ago.
It straightened out, flicking a switch hidden deep within its strange body, and all fell silent around it, right before it vanished from the doomed planet, never to return.
“To a deal well done in universe 112!” Barbara toasted, lifting her glass of very expensive Universe 82-bordeaux. Sporting a weather system that was just a couple of degrees warmer than usual, Universe 82 was excellent for wine, and had rapidly gained an omniversal reputation among the entire F˛ and ESMF staff.
“Hear, hear!” everybody else returned, lifting their own glasses. For this occasion, Frederic, Jennifer, Daphnix, Ami, and the twins had joined Barbara, Sonya, and Michelle in their celebration. After some bad emotional breakdowns lately, Frederic felt the need to take every opportunity to right the wrongs he did, to enjoy the life and wealth he had built for himself and his family, to relax, and let the universe take care of itself.
This evening was one of such occasions, and the entire group had gathered on one of F˛’s latest tourist attractions in Universe 001: an orbital platform sporting an entirely translucent dome, built up of nothing but forcefields. Frederic’s home universe had finally evolved to the point where such technology was no longer impossible to use in public.
He turned to look to the Earth below. Thanks to a specially designed orbit, the platform’s view sporting a rotating Earth, something impossible when using a more standard geostationary orbit.
“What a view,” the Gerius
Commander whispered, sipping from his
Barbara chuckled. “And keep having the feeling you’re falling because Earth is above you?” she asked with an impish grin.
Frederic shrugged. “Better than taking out the floor… not that it would help much, except when spying on the crew quarters on Deck Two,” he replied with a chuckle, causing the entire group to crack up.
“Hey everybody! Food’s ready!” Michelle shouted as two men appeared, and professionally set up a large and sumptuous buffet.
Five minutes later, everybody had dug in.
“This is really good,” Frederic complimented, taking another bite off the roast beef on his plate. Everybody agreed with him, started nodding, but before anybody could say anything, he looked up and glanced at Barbara. “Almost… too good…” He blinked. “You managed to get one of the chefs of Universe 48?”
Barbara grinned. “F˛ has some incredible resources at its deposal since we expanded interdimensionally, Little Brother,” she answered with an impish grin. “And certainly for one of the top brass of F˛, it’s hardly a problem to get one.”
“But they have a waiting list of months, sometimes even years!” Jennifer gasped.
“NOT when you have the necessary pull,” Frederic’s sister answered with a roguish smirk on her features. She sighed immediately afterward. “But I can’t take the credit. It was Michelle who got Chef Killian from the…”
“The Duc d’Or!” Frederic screamed. “You got one of the three infamous Cordons Mauves from Universe 48 to do a buffet!!?”
Michelle grinned. “I’ve gotten quite good at this business thing,” the black-skinned beauty answered with a smile. “And ever since we managed to get him Chateauneuf Du Pape from Universe 82, he’s been quite nice to our requests.”
Ami chuckled slightly along with Daphnix, while Jennifer and Frederic exchanged glances. “We’ll need to remember that the next time we’ve got to wait eight months before we can get a reservation,” Frederic said, turning to the three CEOs of F˛.
The evening erupted in good-hearted banter and jest as the people present enjoyed the great food, the great wine, and the great companionship.
A couple of hours after the party, Frederic awoke from a dream, startling upright in bed, causing Jennifer to look worriedly at him for the umpteenth time since last week.
Remember… The Konoha Lotus Blossoms Twice.
Sorcerer looked up from the position he was in, supporting his lovely wife as they basked in the warmth of the midday sun of the universe they had taken refuge in. After a nice picnic, a nice bottle of wine, and a pleasant conversation, the couple had settled in for a nice lazy afternoon of doing nothing. Until Sorcerer looked up.
“Love?” Jennifer asked.
“Something’s wrong,” he whispered confusedly, as if he was unable to put a finger on the problem at hand. Which, incidentally, was the truth.
Jennifer’s frown marred her beautiful face. “What is it?”
“I… I’m not sure. I just felt this… this… sense come over me. This sense that’s telling me that something’s wrong.” He swallowed. “Which is strange, because it’s the Bastard that usually gets the prophecies.”
Jennifer’s frown lessened, and a nervous smile tugged at her lips. She knew that Sorcerer called his twin the bastard more out of respect and ritual than sheer malevolence. Ever since… then… they had struck some sort of truce, and it had held ever since. No longer did Sorcerer feel as if the entire omniverse could come crashing down around them at any given time. He had actually begun to relax, to enjoy life once again.
Which was why Jennifer was still concerned. Anything that threatened their peace was something that she didn’t like.
“I’m going to go check… I’ll be back in a second, Love,” he whispered, planting a small kiss on her lips as he extracted himself from her. Sighing, she stood up.
“Then I’m going to go check with you,” she told him. One look in her brown eyes told him there was no discussion possible, and so he nodded, and ported both of them to their house.
Immediately upon arrival, Sorcerer frowned. The feeling of wrongness had increased even further. Something definitely wasn’t right. But… what?
His glare threatened to shatter glass, concrete, iron and steel wherever it touched as it swept through the house. And this being Sorcerer, his glare was very much so capable of actually shattering physical objects.
“Computer, status report!” he finally barked to the ceiling of his house.
Status ready… project Overlord initiated T plus 5 minutes, 3 seconds.
“Five minutes ago…?” Sorcerer asked, his brain not actually placing the reference. “Computer, explain Project Overlord!”
Project Overlord has been encrypted. Please state the authorization code for level eleven access to primary data core.
Sorcerer frowned deeper. “Why… ?” he wondered. “I haven’t sealed anything under level eleven… oh crap.”
“Love?” Jennifer asked, seeing him pale, then tremble.
“Project Overlord…” Sorcerer whispered. “Oh, by the Gods, no!”
“Love?” Jennifer insisted louder, right before he vanished. Her screams echoed through the countryside. “LOVE!!!”
The Entity’s pinkish-mauve eyes were closed as it sat in perfect lotus position, floating above one of the many active volcanoes of this world-in-forming.
Overview of tactical analysis.
Objective #1: destruction of the Bastard known as Frederic Fromthefield.
Objective #2: all means are allowed for completion of objective #1
Objective #3: conquer the known multiverse, using the portal module built into the bio-nanite body, and transfer command over to the Lord Sorcerer upon completion of all objectives.
The Entity opened its eyes, and erected itself to its full 2-meter height, glancing up to a perfectly starry sky, the view unopposed by an atmosphere. The view reminded it of its own planet, now destroyed by the Black Hole, no doubt. It balled its fists. How dared they to try and destroy it? Where did they get the gall to attempt to thwart the Lord Sorcerer’s perfect plan?
The Entity balled its fists, and tapped into the ki-techniques that had been built directly into its genetic library. Mauve energy welled up around it, and the lessening volcanic activity picked up again. The Entity smiled. If it had emotions, it would proclaim love for these kinds of harsh environments.
It started its scan for the Bastard. Objective number one would be met, and it would be met as soon as possible. The Entity’s drive for victory was inbred. As was its desire for combat, part of the Saiyan heritage. “Obedience means victory,” it whispered, the sound drowned out by the roar of the volcanoes. “And victory means life.”
Something clicked. The automatic scan had revealed a power signature, with a 99.99997% match to the one supplied to its genetic memories. But, as soon as it had appeared, so soon did it vanish, and the Entity was left to contemplate the source of the power-signature that had vanished so suddenly. But, its memory banks were the perfect computer-kind, and it had brought up the necessary information from the cache-files in zero time.
Target located, initiating completion of Objective #1.
I balled its scaled hands, and felt its power level explode as it tapped into the relocation probe that would take it to its target. Frederic Fromthefield, here I come! Pray to your Gods of the Universe, for your days have been numbered!!!
It was about to port away, when something… came to it.
“Halt.”
The Entity actually froze at the tone of command, and turned to its visitor. “Who dares…” it halted when it registered who its mysterious visitor was. “Lord Sorcerer!”
Sorcerer dipped his head. “Your mission has been cancelled.”
The Entity stared at Sorcerer with the closest it could ever come to shock on its features. “Lord Sorcerer? I can not accept that directive…”
“Objective one, the canceling of the Bastard known as Frederic Fromthefield, has been scrubbed. Vebal command sequence, Omega-level, classification eleven, sequence 56-43-90, neural signature transmitting now.”
The Entity dipped its head once. “Command sequence received and acknowledged… Lord Sorcerer.” It turned to Sorcerer fully now. “However, your sequence could have been copied. I therefore must determine that you have been compromised, and that this is an attempt by the enemy to subvert and destroy this Final Unit.”
Sorcerer’s eyes opened wide. “You will accept my orders! I created you!!” he shouted.
The Entity dipped its head. “True. Yet, the primary objective states that the Bastard must be destroyed.”
“I gave you an ORDER!” Sorcerer screamed, actually clicking to Super-one in rage.
Warning, power level at level 500. Adapting. The Entity blinked. Five-hundred is now one hundred. Power level advantage negated. “Objective number two states that every possible action must be taken to finish objective one. Therefore, I am ignoring your command. Please refrain from this line of inquiry and thought.”
Sorcerer scowled, and clicked his power to Super-two, while simultaneously going Magic Augmentation level seven. It’d be a very cold day in hell before he’d use Warp magic to destroy his own creation, damnit! Balling his fists, he vanished from his present location, and rematerialized against the Entity’s cheek, literally tearing off its head, and vaporizing it.
Sorcerer smirked as he landed. “Never disobey me, idiot.” It was only then that he realized the Entity’s body was still standing, and that its power level hadn’t diminished. To the contrary… it was still rising!
At that moment, the Entity re-spawned its head. What was 1500 is now 100, its computer-cells registered. Power level equivalence has been achieved.
“What the… ?” Sorcerer grunted, turning around slowly. “The original plans called for the central computer to be in your head!”
Entity grinned. “Those plans were adapted, Lord Sorcerer. My body is constructed from biometallic nanoprobes… processing has been delegated from the central core.” It took a martial arts stance. “The last courtesy, Lord Sorcerer. Now I must destroy you, in accordance with the Original Objectives.”
Sorcerer too, took a stance, then balled his fists, and summoned the Alter. “Try me, asshole,” his disembodied voice hollered, as the slabs of ground vanished, and the black-hole cloak hid his body and features, safe for his chin and mouth. Lifting one hand, he added, “Fireball!”
Entity lifted it hand, and took the fireball dead-on. It didn’t even scream as the lower part of his arms dematerialized. Two-hundred fifty. The hand respawned as it dodged a horizontal swipe by Sorcerer. What was 250 is now 100. It felt its body increase as his decentralized processing compensated for magical powers. It launched itself into the air, jumping away from a sheer vertical kick by Sorcerer that would have hit its chin.
Balling its fists, the Entity decided on finally engaging its target. From above, it charging down upon Sorcerer, who blocked, and retaliated, slightly surprised at the amount of force the Entity could produce in such a short amount of time. It’s evolving more rapidly then I ever imagined… Sorcerer scowled, dodged a vertical hit, and planted a solid strike in the Entity’s stomach, causing it to double over. Immediately after, he connected a solid kick to its chin, catapulting it back. Screaming in rage, making his ki well up golden around the black-hole Alter Armor, Sorcerer followed the flying Entity. Suddenly materializing above it, he struck it down into the ground as his two feet connected to its stomach.
Entity screamed as it vanished into the ground’s dark recesses, and Sorcerer cupped his hands. “Kamehameha…” the blue-white ball of energy materialized between his cupped hands, right before vanishing into the pit created by the Entity. The planet shook mere seconds later as it detonated against its target.
“There. Never disobey,” Sorcerer grunted as he dropped his augmentations, and cancelled the Alter. Crossing his arms, he turned, and started to walk away, preparing a spell to take him back to Jennifer. There was no way he was going to let this skirmish ruin his day.
Suddenly, he stooped, and turned, as the plant shook violently once again, and a low growl was audible from the pit. The circumference exploded upward as the Entity blasted out, surrounded by a bright orb of energy, and dropped to the ground in front of Sorcerer, the energy imploding into it. “You have augmented me well, Lord Sorcerer.” It had the audacity to smirk at Sorcerer.
The man scowled deep, exploded his full physical power into being, and struck out.
His fist hit empty air as the Entity dodged sideways, and now smirked at the fist. “Not fast enough.”
Sorcerer scowled deeper, and struck out with his right foot. Entity merely jumped over it. “Still not fast enough.”
Sorcerer jumped back, bringing his hands together. “Stone curse,” he whispered, throwing the spell forward. Entity smirked, looking at the approaching curse, then dodged it. Sorcerer smiled. Entity frowned, then looked over its shoulder, just in time to see the spell reverse course and slam into his back. The look of surprise on Entity’s face would have been etched in stone for eternity.
And, for a few precious seconds, it actually looked as if it would achieve its intention, but then the statue erupted in energy, and the Entity emerged once more. “That was… interesting.”
Sorcerer scowled. “Poison Cloud!”
“Oh, please… I can survive in outer space, some gas ain’t gonna hurt me,” the Entity said, making a swiping motion with his right hand, canceling the spell while it was still forming. “Lord Sorcerer, you disappoint me.”
Sorcerer snarled his teeth bare, and drew his twin Swords of the Phalanx. Closing his eyes, he summoned his strength and speed, and vanished into the fastest speed he could muster under present conditions.
Entity frowned, and glanced around. Finally, he saw something, and dodged just in time to avoid a horizontal swipe by Sorcerer’s Sword. Immediately after, the second sword stabbed right through its stomach, and Entity’s face registered sheer shock. Seconds later, Sorcerer landed as the Entity’s body fell into pieces. Smirking, he sheathed his Swords. “Let’s see you come back from that, you bastard.”
The smirk vanished from his face as energy jumped from one piece to the next, lifting them all back into place, merging them back into one Entity. “Thank you for lifting my disappointment.”
Sorcerer’s snarl would have sent shivers down the Entity’s spine, had it had a spine. Or fear, for that matter. “I will wipe you away,” Sorcerer scowled. He lifted both his hands above his head, and summoned. Supreme Armageddon… telekinetically enhanced Super Bolt.
For the Entity, things moved too fast to follow. One moment, his opponent lifted his hands, as if in surrender. The next, the world turned a vicious cauldron of blacks and reds, followed by sheer and utter pain in each and every cell of his body.
Sorcerer smiled as he saw the Entity vanished in reds and blacks of exploding Super-Ki and supreme combat magics. And that scream… that delightful scream of a being that knows it’s about to die. He had forgotten that scream… and how much he enjoyed listening to it.
“Never… ever… go against me, bastard,” Sorcerer said to the empty air, once the elements had calmed down.
Suddenly, the planet shook, and from the very air, energy started leaping to the ground. The Entity rematerialized. What was 2000 is now 100, it noted. Blinking, it smirked at Sorcerer.
“You can not defeat me, Lord Sorcerer. You made me to be undefeatable.”
Sorcerer smirked darkly. “I’ll destroy you, if it’s the last thing I do, you ass. I created you, I can destroy you.”
“Not if that is the best you can do.”
Sorcerer actually smiled. Evilly, but he still smiled.
“You haven’t yet seen what I am capable of,” the man answered coldly.
Entity dropped into a combat stance, and motioned ‘come here’ with his hand. “Why don’t you show me, then?”
“By all means, it would be my pleasure,” Sorcerer said, grinning.
Entity just stood, and waited. Sorcerer closed his eyes, and focused. He still didn’t want to use Warp Magic… it just wouldn’t do for one of his creations to force him to use Warp Magic. His breath quieting down, he infused every bit of magic, of ki, of Alter, of mental energy, into a single super-weapon, using the knowledge he had obtained from the creation of Warp Magic. In front of him, a small sphere coagulated out of thin air, a single sphere of total darkness, almost as if it were a Black Hole. Then, around it, a second layer appeared, made up out of semi-transparent blue energy, as if it were a shield of some sort.
Sorcerer opened his eyes. “Orkmus Déi,” he whispered, focusing twin turquoise-glowing angrily-pulsing eyes upon his creation. He lifted one hand, and pointed it in Entity’s direction.
The concentric orb vanished from sight, and Entity registered the speed surpassing that one light. For a moment, it felt intense worry. It actually felt intense worry. It felt… Entity felt nothing after that.
Sorcerer smirked as the blast’s double-strike became visible to him. First, the outer blue layer exploded, ripping through the Entity’s flesh, burying deep into its cells, ripping apart the bounds that kept them together. Thusly transformed into a pulsing nebula of loose cells, the second detonation hit.
The black innermost center of the double-strike vanished from his senses a mere fraction of a fraction of a second before sent a devastating pulse of energy that literally shattered the cells’ atomic structure, transforming them from a nebula into subatomic sludge. Sorcerer smiled as the grayish syrup-like substance dripped to the ground.
Letting out his breath, he let his augmentations fall.
And he turned to leave, not trusting his luck enough to once gain chide his opponent for going against his wishes.
Just as he was about to incant the spell for the way home, he felt a tremor. A tremor in the Force, in the Magic, even on the Astral Plane. Energy was being drawn into a single point, and Sorcerer looked over his shoulder.
His jaw would have hit the ground, if it hadn’t been firmly attached to his face. “Gods be damned…”
Entity smirked as it resurrected from the sludge. “What a weapon, Lord Sorcerer. I commend you.”
Sorcerer screamed in rage and fury. “Gods-damned mother-fucking son of a bitch!!!!” he shouted, crouching deep, lifting his hand into an incanting position. He would destroy this thing, if it’s the last thing he does!!!
Entity smirked, and vanished. Sorcerer turned, lifted one hand to block the first strike by the Entity, only to discover that he wasn’t the only one who could do a diversion. Entity’s boot his Sorcerer’s face, catapulting him sideways. Knowing better than to stay on a single course, he rolled in mid-air, and struck ground moments after, rolling into a stance that would allow him to defend.
It soon came in handy as he was forced to dodge under a strike by the Entity, and he blocked a kick while still crouched. Viciously, the Entity unleashed strike after kick after strike against Sorcerer, forcing the triple Phalanx up and back, continuously on the defense, pressed deeper and deeper as every strike and kick by the Entity was stronger than its last. Finally, it found an opening, and exploited it ruthlessly.
The foot exploded deep in Sorcerer’s stomach, doubling him over and catapulting him back with a dry ‘oomph’. Materializing directly in Sorcerer’s flight path, the Entity received him, and kicked him up into the air. Managing just to balance himself, Sorcerer was barely in time to see the Entity materialize, and connected both its hands together, slamming them into his back and catapulting him into the ground.
Sorcerer growled as he got up, just in time to see the Entity land, and smirk at him. “How…?”
“Continuously adapting nano-cells. I have learned your speed and strength. And your magic.” Entity crossed its arms. “And I thought you were intelligent? You’re the one who created me…”
“Yeah… but you weren’t supposed to be this good,” Sorcerer said, standing upright. “Now you’ve just become good enough for me to take off the kiddy-gloves.” He balled his fists. “I am going to unleash the final 99% of my strength, Bio-Wardroid. And I will evaporate you, making sure that you’ll never be able to recombine.”
Entity smirked, and dipped its head. “Very well, Lord Sorcerer. Although I must admit to computing that it’s highly unlike that you could have been hiding such power up until now.”
“You’re calling me a liar,” Sorcerer stated, coldly.
Entity shrugged. “That would be an accurate word.”
Sorcerer smirked. “Warp Magic… activate.”
His will tore into the Augmented Ring on his finger, releasing the forces stores therein. Warp Magic detonated around the man, tearing into space and time and magic alike, recreating the Rebirth of Fire that had made Sorcerer into the Warp Magician. Emerging from the Fire stood a man, glowing fierce amber with stored power, and the Entity’s advanced could actually sense space and time eddy around him, as if he were a rock in the middle of the fast-flowing river of space-time.
The Entity actually had the good sense to give a vague resemblance of being impressed. “You were not lying,” it stated calmly.
Sorcerer smirked, and vanished into Super-Light. He rematerialized against the Entity, his fist tearing through the creature’s stomach. For a fraction, eh stood there, with his fist sticking out the Entity’s back, then he jerked upward, cutting a path with his arm though the Entity’s body. At the same time, he managed a blast of Warp Magic in his free left hand. The moment his right arm cleared the top of the creature’s head, he cut loose with the Warp Magic.
The Entity, still somewhat alive, crossed its arms in a vague attempt to save itself.
And it actually managed it, as it kept an infinitely small part of itself alive, which managed to rebuilt its entire body from scratch, only a thousand time more powerful than before, able to withstand the blasts of Warp Magic, and the enhanced strength that could cut through its body.
Sorcerer lost his smirk. “Fine. Here we go,” he growled, extending one hand in the direction of the Entity. “Elemental Chaos!” Amber waves radiated off the man, distorting the very building blocks of the elements. The Entity went down on its knees, groaning in pain as its body threatened to be ripped apart at the seams, his cells turning against each other as they recognized each other as enemies now.
As far out as the outer planets of the solar system Sorcerer’s destructive forces went, and for a few moments, he actually thought that the Gods of the Universe would come and kill him for his breach in their agreement. But… no Gods came, and he turned back to his enemy.
“Never underestimate the creator,” he whispered, walking toward the groaning creature, lifting one hand. “Beam of Destruction.”
The Entity looked up, seeing its death build in Sorcerer’s hands, and forced itself to calm down, to take matters in its own hands. Forcing full control over each and every one of his cells, he forced them to counter the formidable forces acted upon it by Sorcerer’s Warp Magic. It had just begun to update its body when the bright-red beam of super-light speed energy hit it.
It felt itself die for the umpteenth time that die, only to resurrect a few seconds later, fully immune to whatever had killed it. It was perfect, and it would not die. Not so easily, anyway.
The Entity reopened its eyes. Equivalence has been achieved.
Sorcerer actually took a step back now. “That’s not possible!” he shouted, taking a second step back as the Entity stood up to its full height.
“But it is, Lord Sorcerer,” the Entity smirked. He lifted a hand. “And that’s not all that is possible. Thanks to what you did to me, I have learned quite a few new techniques.” A red ball of energy settled in the creature’s palm. “Beam of Destruction.”
Two figures jogged across the icy flats of the central Antarctic basin, slowly crossing the white desert. Suddenly, they halted.
“So this is where you go for your early morning jogs when you're on Earth,” Daphnix said to his friend, turning 360°, looking around the impressive scenery. Framed by large and icy mountains, the central basin looked beautiful and impressive, to say the least, certainly with the sun hanging brightly overhead, providing no warmth whatsoever, but giving off gentle feelings anyway.
Frederic nodded, and knelt, closing his eyes. “I used to just burn a hole using mental energy,” he said. “But now, I have something better.” Drawing a breath, the Supreme Commander of the Jokilar Gerius tapped into the elemental Forces surrounding every creature in the omniverse. The ice drew apart underneath his hand, and a circle of ice underneath the two figures lowered gently along with the deepening of the small canyon, until they had reached 'ground level', supported just above the freeing-cold water.
Without ado, Frederic leaned over, and plunged his head in the ice-cold water, exhaling to create bubbles with his breath, and grinning goofily as he felt the bubbles tickle his skin. Daphnix smiled, knelt down, and plunged in right after his friend.
Lifting upright about five minutes later, Frederic sighed. “Ah... that's refreshing after a good jog.”
“Sure is,” Daphnix grinned. “Even if it hasn't got the slightest effect.”
“Not anymore,” Frederic corrected his friend with a grin. “But this used to be the best place for a decent refreshing dip in the water.” As the duo stood upright, the ice sealed and the ice-sheet returned to normal underneath their feet.
Daphnix shrugged. “I guess you're right,” he admitted, looking around, hands in his pockets, enjoying the calm and peaceful scenery.
“Ready to head back?” Frederic asked.
Daphnix shrugged. “I guess.” He turned to his friend. “Ready when you are,” he then said, lifting his hands in preparing to port them both back. At the last moment, Frederic halted him.
“How about we use this planet's technology instead of going back the Gerius way?” he suggested, materializing a mental amplifier in his right hand, and tapping the communication button. “I need a taxi for two... from here to LA.”
Of course, a male voice replied from the amp, after which the connection severed. Daphnix grinned.
“An air-cab, huh?” he asked with a grin, turning to the scenery once more. “I can't believe how much we missed... 001 has become practically 23rd century.”
Frederic nodded. “Unfortunately, the general public still doesn't accept transporters that readily...”
“Only in emergencies, huh?” Daphnix replied. He shrugged. “I guess only the ESMF and the general F˛ crews can readily trust them.”
“It'll come,” Frederic told his friend, putting his hands in his pockets, and turning to take the scenery in himself. “I forgot how beautiful this place was... it's been a long time since I came here.”
Daphnix merely nodded, and the duo remained silent for the next five minutes, until the yellow air-taxi set down next to them.
“Jesus,” the cabby cried as he flipped open the wing-door. “Get in, it must be freezing...” only then did he look over his shoulder, over his seat, to his two clients. His eyes went wide, and the driver jumped out of the car, straightened out and actually saluted.
On sheer reflex, both Daphnix and Frederic returned the salute. “Do we know you...” Frederic's eyes went wide. “Marc? March Dhondt?” he asked, actually surprised. The cabby seemed to swell with pride.
“I'm honored you remember my name, Sir.”
Frederic and Daphnix smiled as they filed into the air-cab, and the driver slipped behind the wheel, closing the doors, and letting the heater warm the compartment.
“How could we not remember,” Daphnix answered. “You were with us for a long time... you were part of those first 1500 that manned the Command Center.”
Frederic nodded. “You were one of our finest pilots, too. You manned the conn in shifts with Kathryn O'Conner.”
Marc nodded as he took off, and angled the air-car toward the city of Los Angeles. It didn't take long for them to reach hypersonic speeds.
“What happened, man? No offense... I'm sure it's a cool job... but why did you quit the ESMF? After serving during the Ketari wars, and during the Sorc War, you could have had any post you wanted,” Frederic asked.
Marc chuckled a little sadly. “Family, Sir. My wife managed to convince me.” He sighed. “Being a taxi-driver is a nice job, true... certainly with these babies,” he said, pounding the steering wheel, “but sometimes... I miss the feeling of the Quantum Displacement Drives, the sight of the stars when I woke up in the mornings...”
He shook his head. “But that's all history now. I'm a civilian now.”
Frederic nodded. “I understand... you're a lucky man, Marc. Having a woman you would sacrifice that much for is a fine thing to have. But still... I am kinda disappointed you didn't decide to ask for a F˛ posting instead. Being a civilian pilot for F˛ is the next best thing behind flying the Daedalus-class...”
“Or the Ortega-class,” Marc replied with a wistful smile on his face. He grinned to his passengers. “I always liked the big beasts, Sir. And those battlecarriers were the biggest beasts in the fleet.”
“More firepower, too,” Daphnix said with a chuckle. “It's a powerful feeling having one of those at your fingertips.”
Marc nodded. “Indeed, Sir. Indeed...”
“Are you sure I can't convince you... or your wife... to take up a posting? SpaCECoB especially has some nice jobs that could use one of the finest pilots... the Dvorák is about to be launched... Deep Explorer class. Not as big or as powerful as a battlecarrier, but safer to be on. No combat missions, just exploring the galaxy.”
“SpaCECoB?” Marc asked, frowning.
“Space-bound Command, exploration and colonization Base,” Daphnix answered. “It's ESMF interdimensional headquarters, based in universe 004. We coordinate explorations of different dimensions from there.”
Marc looked dreamily off in the distance. “Pilot on an explorer... seeing things no-one has ever seen before...”
“Yep,” Frederic grinned. “And there's plenty of room for civilians... your wife could come with you.”
“Is there a school?” Marc asked, looking up with a smile.
“Oh, yeah,” Daphnix said with a grin. “For all the other ESMF personnel that's brining their families with them.”
You are entering LA airspace... prepare to hand over control, a metallic voice sounded from the dash. Marc released the controls, and pressed a button, transferring control over the car over to the central AL traffic-regulating computer. Immediately, the car swerved down into the ant-like activity going on in the skyroads of Los Angeles.
“I will definitely be talking to my wife,” Marc said with a smile as he turned to his guests. “Fly the spacelanes again...”
“Lanes no human has ever explored before,” Frederic said with a nod. “The Deep Explorers are the latest in ESMF technology... even though they're smaller, and they don't house fighters, the Dvorák does have about the same amount of firepower as a battlecarrier during the Sorc wars, so she's got the teeth to defend herself.”
Marc almost drooled. “Definitely will need to talk to my wife,” he muttered as the car set down. He got out of the car along with Frederic and Daphnix, and saluted. “Sirs, it was my honor and privilege to have you as my passengers.”
The duo returned the salute. “civilian life has taught you bad habits,” Frederic then said with a grin, extending his hand. “You know I don't go for the formality when off-duty.”
Marc smiled, and clasped the hand. “Of course... Fred. How could I forget?”
Frederic smiled warmly. “Nobody's perfect.”
“That's the truth,” Marc agreed, shaking the hand amicably.
Sorcerer grinned, and lifted his hands. “That's my own magic, you idiot,” he replied as the Beam of destruction was about to hit him. The bright-red super-light beam vanished into a spacial fold, a tear of space-time that ripped open between his hands. “And I always know how to counter my own moves.” He dropped into a combat stance. “And I am not going to let you off so easily.”
Entity smiled, and dropped into its own combat stance. “I certainly hope not. I am beginning to develop the emotion known as 'enjoyment',” it stated with a smile.
Sorcerer scowled slightly, and vanished, going super-light. Entity felt a devastating impact explode under its chin, forcing it up. Immediately afterward, it felt pain. Lots of pain. Continuously.
Sorcerer's Warp Magic body had exploded to speeds beyond light, making it actually negative in mass, making it bleed off energy as the universe's laws of physics were stressed beyond coping. Glowing a bright red-amber, Sorcerer's faster-than-light fists exploded against the entity's ribcage, stomach, face, arms, and legs, releasing the energy bleed-off of the omniverse against his opponent.
When they reached the alien moon of the deserted planet, about fifty-five thousandths of a second after Sorcerer had launched his attack, he broke off, cupped his hands, materialized into the Entity's visual spectrum, and released the remainder of the bleed-off energy along with a ball of Warp Magic, enhanced with as much Ki as he could lace into it at that moment.
Entity's eyes went wide-open.
“Crap...”
Sorcerer smirked, panting and sweating slightly even in the extreme cold of outer space, and watched the Bio-wardroid go up in an explosion that rivaled a supernova.
Holding his breath and tensing his muscles, Sorcerer let the blast wave, the radiation, the energy-release and the scream of the Universe pass over him. Harmlessly, it passed, as the Warp Magician stared in total focus at the place where the 'driod used to be.
It rematerialized, the green skin changing into black as it adapted. “Lord Sorcerer, that was beautiful.”
Sorcerer smirked darkly, drew his Swords of the Phalanx, merged them into a Dual Blade, and charged, screaming soundlessly in the near-vacuum of space. The Entity held its arms crossed as Sorcerer approached at Super-Light.
At the last moment, it uncoiled its arms, and caught the business end of the Dual Blade on one open palm, immediately turning to catch the strike from the other side on his second palm. Moving like Sorcerer, faster than light, it caught the man's attacks on the flat of his palms, small cuts appearing in the toughened skin.
Sorcerer swiped for Entity's head, finding the attack blocked by a fist, before the creature ducked, and attempted to plant a hit on Sorcerer's stomach. The man jumped over the attack, charging with the Dual Blade from above, only to find his attack blocked by an open palm, and a second hand coming to his arm, about to break it. Drawing back, releasing the Dual Blade, Sorcerer's released left hand charged with a single sword to the oncoming arm.
The blade clunked against harder-than-metal blackened scales.
“I have adapted to the increased strength of your double weapon, Lord Sorcerer... a single sword won't harm me anymore,” Entity replied levelly. “I am your superior. Prepare for death.”
Sorcerer scowled, and vanished. Entity grinned, and followed.
Fractions later, they appeared on the planet's surface. Sorcerer scowled, and dropped into the modified horse-stance. “had the Gods not stopped me, I would have used this against the Bastard. Now I'll use it against you.” He drew a breath, and snarled. Amber energy welled up around him, forcing the Entity' to put up big eyes, before smiling.
“Yes... more power...” it drooled.
Sorcerer's snarl became a howl as the energy increased and the bio-Wardroid grinned wider as it felt Sorcerer's power increase with each passing moment. It wanted this! It needed this! Some unfathomable part of his makeup demanded he attain as much power as it could, and the best way to gather this power was to be subjected to the most powerful techniques in existence!
Sorcerer's voice reverberated along the
planet's surface, sounding as ten voices speaking simultaneously. “TOTAL...
ANNIHILATION!”
Entity's eyes went wide as
it felt the universe distort more than it ever could have believed
possible. Impossible... time and space and thought are uniting, it had
time to think as the planet seemingly fell away, and everything was replaced by
an opaque black orb of nothingness.
The next moment... nothing.
It ceased to be.
Sorcerer dropped back into
real-time, real-space, real-thought, feeling the drain on every sense, every
power reserve had had: magic, Warp Magic, Alter, Mental energy, Ki... he had to
use it all. He sunk to his knees, feeling the drain take hold of him worse and
worse. But the technique worked! He had successfully created a Null-Universe,
dumped the creature into it, and then let it end in the most destructive power
known in the omniverse: the Big Crunch that ended a Universe's existence.
Panting deeply, trying
desperately to gather enough energy to warp back home, Sorcerer couldn't help
but smile. The creature had given him a run for his money, he had to admit
that. A real challenge didn't come around too often...
A spark appeared in Sorcerer's field of vision. It reappeared, sparking from mid-air to the ground. A third spark. A fourth, followed by a fifth, before two, three, four sparks started coming at the same time. Slowly, the sparks grew in number and intensity, a circular hole in space tearing apart.
“That was... most interesting,” an eerily black bio-Wardroid said, smirking. “But, it is impossible to defeat me.”
“Impossible...” Sorcerer croaked.
“Not impossible, Lord Sorcerer. My
energy has evolved to the point where it is actually capable of bending time,
giving me the capacity to bring a cell forward from annihilation, allowing me
to recreate... always, anywhere, anytime.” It smirked darkly, crossing
its arms. “The moment you created me, Lord Sorcerer, I became the
ultimate immortal! I can not die, for my energy will always be able to bring a
cell forward in time!”
Sorcerer scowled, and drained his reserves. This had grown beyond him... he needed those blasted Gerius and their Temporal Incursion. The Warp Magician vanished.
“Tsk, tsk, Lord Sorcerer... running from an opponent. How dishonorable,” the Entity chided, beginning its scan to find the Warp Magician.
“That didn't take too long,” Frederic joked as he and Marc toured the Dvorák's construction site.
March smiled, while at the same time still managing to look around with an impressed look on his face. “When a man knows what he wants, Fred. When a man knows what he wants.”
Frederic chuckled, turned, and leaned on the railing that separated their walkway from the deep-space construction facility embedded deep within the bowels of SpaCECoB, in universe 004. Marc stopped to join him, and whistled. Where the ESMF was once known for its boxy, almost ugly, rectangular design of ships, it had now finally gotten the knack of making ships not only functional, but beautiful as well.
Sleek and beautiful she was, sporting a light-blue-tinted hull, the latest in design to come out of the legendary Fromthefield Twins' spatial Dynamics equations. Gliding through the quantum tunnels more easily had revolutionized the way engines were built and maintained, and the old saying of 'want more speed, throw more power at it' was no longer true.
“She's beautiful,” Marc whispered.
Frederic nodded. “Who says physicists can't design ships?” he asked with a joke. “That entire ship was created by a single hyper-spatial dynamics equation.”
“Tell your physicists they've got my compliments,” Marc whispered, momentarily forgetting who he was talking to.
Frederic chuckled. “I'll be sure to tell them you approved of their little after-hours project,” he said with a chuckle, reaching for the communications button. “David, Jessie... I've got someone who says he likes your equations.”
Which ones, Dad? David's voice asked, tone light.
“Hyper-spatial dynamics... he likes the ships that came out of it,” Frederic said, grinning as Marc looked in absolute horror at the man.
Cool. Tell your friend that he's probably going to like the next set even more, Daddy, Jessie answered en lieu of her brother. If he liked those, we'll do our best to make the next generation even better.
Frederic chuckled, and signed off. “I'm sure they appreciated it,” he told Marc, who looked in shock at the man.
“I forgot all about the Twins... I'm sorry, Sir, I mean no disrespect...”
Frederic waved it off. “The best compliments are given when you forgot who you're talking to... or about.” He stood up, and motioned to one side. “How about we go on a tour?”
Marc practically jumped at the occasion to change the conversation, and not thirty seconds later, the duo was touring the insides of the Dvorák, where the finishing touches were just being applied, and final checks were being carried out. Marc stared in unchecked awe and wonder at the new interiors.
He was used to serving on the battlecarriers, or on the command center, with their metallic gray walls, the grated decks, and the sparse crew quarters. The Dvorák had none of those... it was designed from the get-go to be a Deep Explorer, a traveling city built for people to be at home in, not to go to war with. The walls were a gentle amber, there was carpeting on the decks, and the almost-harsh lighting of the old ships had been replaced by gentle lamps that emitted a far more comfortable light.
In short, it was a floating house.
“What a difference,” Marc whispered. “This is totally different from the old ships...”
Frederic nodded. “The ESMF's Explorers have benefited greatly from my experience on the Ortega. Me and my family transformed her... and our experience had this for result.”
“Come on,” Frederic said, taking the man's arm and guiding him into a turbolift. “The Dvorák has a crew compliment of 2,000, not including spouses and children. Life support is targeted at about 10,000... but we think we'll have about 4,000 people on board when she sails. She's got the latest zero-point shielding, Both zero-point and anti-matter based close-in-combat-system for getting rid of fighters, zero-point torpedoes and annihilators.”
“Annihilators?” Marc asked, as the lift came to a stop. Frederic pressed the button to keep the doors closed.
“Beam weapons. What? You think we'd stick to phasers and Quantum Pellets forever?” he asked with a chuckle. Marc shook his head, smiling. His superior would never change. “Anyway,” Frederic went on, “this is what you're here for: the bridge, central command center of the Deep Explorer class Vessel of the ESMF: Dvorák.”
The doors slid open, and Marc gawked as they stepped in. the bridge too, was an odd mix of functionality and artful design that inspired calm and professionalism at the same time. He felt like he could cruise through the galaxy in this vessel, and not get tired of it... which was precisely the point, of course.
“This is the helm,” Frederic said, smiling slightly as he saw Marc look around like a schoolboy. “Come on... have a seat. I know the captain of this fine vessel won't mind.”
Marc slipped into the comfortable chair, and couldn't help but let his hands touch the delicate touch-frames of the console. The black panel lit up, displaying gentle blue and amber controls, in new yet familiar lay-outs.
“Capable of 300,000 lights under Quantum Displacement, and about one hundred fifty million under wormhole drive, the Dvorák is also one of the fastest ships ever built. Capable of spatial relocation over a distance of one-point-five lightyears, she's also hard to catch,” Frederic said, leaning closer, pointing to one panel on the touchpad. “Spatial sensors provide sight during wormhole displacement.”
“Jesus, Sir...” Marc breathed.
Frederic chuckled, and whispered, “Now, she goes 300,000 by the book... but I happen to think she can do 350 easily. Just make sure she's been around the block more than once before you try it... these engines are brand-new designs, right out of testing.”
Marc swallowed. “She's beautiful...” he whispered again, letting his hands trail the edges of the intrinsically-designed console.
“Ah, here comes your future captain,” Frederic said, standing up. Marc practically jumped from the seat, almost afraid to look at the person he could probably be serving under for the next few years.
His jaw hit the ground. “Kathy? Kathy O'Connor?” he brought out in shock. He turned to Frederic. “You want me to fly for the only person in the ESMF that could pilot a brick with a QDD?” he brought out in shock.
Frederic and Captain O'Connor exchanged a smile. “I owe you a drink, Sir,” O’Connor grinned. She turned to Marc. “And I'd like to think there were at least two.”
Marc gulped, finally realizing what he had done, who he had ignored, and snapped at attention. “I'm sorry, ma... eh... Captain O'Connor.”
The blonde former helmsman of Frederic Fromthefield smiled. “Come now, Marc. ?Not so formal. We're not in deep space yet,” she said, grinning, stepping up to him, and hugging the man. “Good to have you back, Marc.”
“Good to be back, Kathy,” Marc answered grinning like a fool as he hugged the small woman back. They stepped away from each other, and Marc shook his head. “I'll do you proud.”
“I'm sure you will. You're about the only one I would entrust this baby to,” she answered, sitting down in the Captain's chair. It creaked. She chuckled. “Still some bugs,” she whispered, tapping the armrest a couple of times. She turned to Frederic. “I was about to give up trying to find a pilot, and fly it myself... if you hadn't suggested Marc, I'd probably be the only captain who still pilots her own ship.”
Frederic grinned. “When I met him, I just had to think of you, O'Connor... after the countless hours we all spent together, first on the Command Center, then on the Ortega, we all got to know each other very well.”
The woman smiled. “Come on, Marc. Let me show you your quarters.”
Frederic grinned, and turned. “That's my cue to leave... I still have some work to do.”
Pilot and Captain were about to refuse, when a flash of light appeared on the bridge, and a man fell from mid-air flat on the ground. Frederic's eyes bulged.
“Sorc?” he asked, kneeling down to the prone man. “Sorc? You okay?”
“Help...” the man whispered. “Emergency...”
Frederic's eyes hardened, and he straightened out with the Warp Magician in his arms. “Linda, Relocation to Ortega, and call the others. Location, War Room Alpha.”
Three-fourths of the personnel on the Dvorák's bridge was ready to volunteer right there and then... if only their captain hadn't beaten them to it.
“Need a hand, Sir?” O'Connor asked.
Frederic shook his head, and spared her a small smile. “The offer's appreciated... but this is one of those things I've got to do myself.” He nodded to the crew. “Fine ship. Take care of her, and she'll bring you home.” He vanished as he told Linda to activate.
Frederic, with Sorcerer in his arms, appeared in the middle of the circular War Room, the front row occupied by the entire body of Jokilar Gerius, Jennifer and Daphnix sitting in the command chairs on the center level, directly in front of the Particle Synthesis platform.
Putting his burden down, the former Triple Phalanx extended his hand, and materialized a handful of Senzu Beans. “Here, Sorc. Eat these. And then tell us what this big emergency is.”
Sorcerer munched down the dozen or so Senzus, and felt his energy explode deep within him, filling his eyes with fire as rage and shame burned through his body. The entire circular room seemed to darken as light and energy was sucked into the man who was slowly climbing to his legs.
“Sorc?” Frederic asked. When his dark alter ego made no move to turn or even acknowledge his presence, Frederic lost his patience. “What in hell happened, asshole!?”
The asshole in question turned, finally. “I screwed up, that's what happened,” he stated coldly, angrily. He balled his fists, and looked at them. “I screwed up, and when I tried to rectify it, it blew up in my face.”
“O-kay...” Frederic said, looking vaguely uncomfortable. “Tell us what happened, from the get-go.” After those words, he sat down in between Daphnix and Jennifer, very much the senior officer present in the room.
Sorcerer scowled, then sighed, and stared at the ground. He turned to the Particle Synthesis platform. “After this, you're going to kill me,” he then stated, back turned to the command trio. “And I mean that...” he said, looking over his shoulder. “This isn't just a screw-up, Fred. This is bigger... worse... and this time, it wasn't intentional, which is worst of all.”
Frederic felt anger creep up his bloodstream, settling into his brain, burning uncomfortable upon the Gerius' emotional control. “Tell us, Sorc. We'll determine what'll happen after that.”
Sorcerer nodded, and looked back to the darkened platform. “Access secret files contained within my eidetic memory enhancements. Code accepted...” The Particle Synthesis platform lit up as Sorcerer linked his personal files to the apparatus. In the center of the room, a humanoid shape became visible, presented in such a manner that anyone sitting in the perfect circle could see it evenly. Compared to simply holography, the particle synthesis looked almost like magic.
“After the defeat at your hands on the Senshi homeworld that sent me running in fear for my life, I activated a special containment procedure... linking a handful of nanites that survived the destruction of my universe to a biological self-improving computer, I instigated a program to grow a new wardroid... self-adapting at nanite level, completely loose from the pure-heart crystals required by the earlier model. I also gave it the compendium of my knowledge at that time, as well as the data gathered by the first wardroid on Shadow's and Frederic's techniques.”
Sorcerer drew a breath. “And I launched it into deep space, to find its own planet, its own universe, totally at random, and mature.”
He was silent for a few seconds. “When the Assassin came... when the Destroyers came... I forgot about it in the fight to regain Jennifer, in the grueling training me and Fred did together. And then the Gerius crap happened, and I was forced to go looking far and wide for more power, giving birth to the Warp Magic. That more than anything scattered my memory. I was being reborn in the forges of the omniverse, recreated in the image of Warp Magic, and it put considerable stress on my memories, on my very soul even... I'm afraid that some things just got buried too deep to access readily.”
Once again, he was silent. “That was a year ago. I forgot about it... totally forgot I ever launched the blasted thing. But this morning... this morning I got the message. The bio-wardroid had matured to the point where it was now going to complete its mission.”
He swallowed. “So I went after it. I ordered it to stand down. For a few seconds, it debated with itself, then told me to go to hell... the primary mission above all. So, I tried to destroy it. I chopped it into pieces. I blasted it with ki and magic, I hit it, I kicked it. I used Warp Magic. I vaporized it totally. I threw it in a pseudo-universe and collapsed it on it.”
He turned. “Nothing worked. It kept coming back, totally immune to whatever I had thrown at it. It learns, adapts, and reconstitutes in something I can only describe as pseudo-time... able to rebuild even while its physical body is destroyed, and only its astral body remains.”
“We'll do a Temporal Incursion,” Jessie Bannon grunted. “Something of this strength can't be allowed to survive.”
“Certainly not if its mission is to destroy me,” Frederic grunted coldly, and Sorcerer actually had the good grace to look at the ground.
“It won't work,” the man whispered. “The being is shielded through time... it'll know, counter, and survive... and then it'll be able to use Temporal Incursion against you.”
“It learns your attacks, too!?” Buffy screeched. “It doesn't just build defenses, it learns to use your attacks too?”
Sorcerer nodded. “It is growing in strength and speed every time it fights... its nanites have adapted the core design to the point where there no longer is a single centralized computer core that can be easily disabled when things go wrong.”
“You built in a failsafe, and the creature adapted beyond it?” Frederic asked, rising slowly from his chair.
“Yes, damnit!” Sorcerer growled. “The damn thing is out of control, and nothing I do is good enough to destroy it! I need one of you blasted Gerius to wipe it out of existence, wipe everything at the same time, not allowing it the time to regenerate... and only the Banes of darkness have the power to wipe the Astral Body immediately.”
“Blast of the Heavens, the God Slayer,” Jennifer whispered.
Frederic nodded to her, then glanced at Sorcerer. “The Gerius are going to war, Sorcerer. And when this is over, we'll have a nice, long, amicable chat about what you can do to pay for services rendered.”
Sorcerer gulped, and was about to nod when something interrupted them.
Entity's face, floating about the Particle generator. “Ingenious design,” it noted, looking down at the generator. Synthesis
“I'll tell my kids your opinion,” Frederic grunted coldly.
“You brought a friend! O goody!” Entity shouted at Sorcerer. Then, it grinned evilly. “Return to the planet immediately, and bring the object of objective #1 with you.”
“And why would we do that?” Sorcerer asked, coldly.
“Because I've brought a friend too!” Entity shouted, smiling widely, as the picture enlarged to encompass not only its body, but a woman in its clutches as well. “And if you don't return, your pretty Jennifer won't survive.”
Sorcerer and Frederic stiffened at the same time. “You're dead meat,” the duo growled out, voices an identical cold infliction that sent chills of dread racing along the nerves of the Gerius present.
Entity would have smiled, had it had emotions. Instead, it merely displayed a cold smirk on its impassive features as its black-scaled arms and hands held fast onto the brunette woman it had 'acquired' mere minutes earlier, right before porting her back to this uninhabited planet and contacting her coward of a husband.
The smirk changed into a small scowl as it debated with itself. Yes... the Lord Sorcerer was a coward, who ran the moment it became apparent that he couldn't beat the Entity.
“Let's hope your husband and his friend show up quickly,” the Entity told Jennifer. “I'd hate to have to kill you...”
At that precise moment, Sorcerer, Frederic materialized, standing side-by-side, directly facing the Entity. The entire body of the Jokilar Gerius followed a fraction later, materializing in a grand circle around them.
Entity smirked again. “... without him being here to see you die,” it finished, and Jennifer's eyes went wide. A fraction later, Sorcerer as well as Frederic got the point of that final sentence, and started to go for the Entity and its captive.
Before that had crossed half the distance, even at lightspeed, Entity had shoved Jennifer away from him, and lifted a hand. When they only had a quarter of the distance yet to go, a beam of extraordinary power left its hand, hitting Jennifer solidly in the back, causing the woman to arch her back and utter a silent scream of pain.
Sorcerer and Frederic ground to a halt, a look of total horror on their faces as Jennifer's soul seemingly ripped from he r body, and just... disintegrated.
“Without soul...” Frederic whispered.
“No resurrection...” Sorcerer finished.
“I can't even do a temporal incursion...” Frederic whispered. “She's... gone...”
“Gone,” Sorcerer whispered, voice dead, totally void of emotion, as if that part of himself had just shut down. “Nothing that can be done...”
Frederic scowled at that instant. This wasn't his Jennifer, but, damnit, any Jennifer's death was one too many! Ground exploded in Alter Light around him as his Gerius Alter armor materialized, directly breaking down a Bane of Darkness in the process. He took one step, then jerked to a halt when an arm crossed in front of his chest.
“Sorc...” he whispered, staring in shock at his double.
“This piece of meat is mine,” the Warp Mage told Frederic, voice level. The two dimensional twins shared a glance, and at that moment Frederic nodded once.
“Good luck.”
Sorcerer nodded, dropped his arm, and balled his fists. He looked at the Entity. “This is it, meatbag. I am going to destroy you.”
Entity smirked. “Give me your best shot, Lord Sorcerer,” it taunted.
Sorcerer drew a breath, and started walking. As he stepped, the ground exploded, setting in a bright golden armor around the man's body, before materializing a black robe on top of it. Throwing back the hood, Sorcerer looked exactly like Frederic had met him: the High Emperor of a pan-universal empire.
“As Emperor of the Terran Imperium, I am going to destroy you,” Sorcerer whispered, vanishing into Super-Light, and appearing behind the Entity. It smirked, and started to rotate out of the way of what it assumed was Sorcerer's attack.
It didn't expect the man to clamp down on him, locking his arms around its chest. “You killed Jennifer,” Sorcerer whispered in its ear. “I will be going down to Hell now... but I am making Gods-damn sure I am going to be taking you with me.” As if in response, magic, Warp Magic, Ki, and Alter swept up around the two combatants, and Entity's eyes went wide.
Frederic looked on, a resigned, sad, look on his face. “I'll make sure you'll be with her, Sorc,” he whispered silently. “You deserve that much, at least.”
The Gerius could do nothing but stare as the power level of Sorcerer continued to climb. “He's going to...” Ami whispered.
“He's a Fred,” Buffy whispered in answer. “It's natural.”
Ami nodded silently, her usually bright blue eyes dark with sadness as she watched the scene unfold.
“We could...” Jonny started, voice climbing in anger.
“No,” Frederic whispered. “This... this is his last choice. We should honor it. All I can hope is, when my time comes to make this decision, there will be someone there to honor it.”
“I'll make sure of it,” Daphnix said, understanding at once what he had taken on with his words.
Sorcerer was screaming now as the power burned through his body, the very cells supercharged to their breaking point, time and space distorting around the duo as he continued to pump power. “Total... Annihilation!” he uttered through the thunderstorm of power. The Darkness set in quickly, but right before their contact was lost, Sorcerer and Frederic shared one last look. Both dimensional twins understood at that moment... they were more alike than they had ever could have admitted. In that one fateful instance right before the blackness of the pseudo-universe claimed Sorcerer, Frederic and Sorcerer felt... alike.
“I'll make sure you see her again,” Frederic whispered as the darkness claimed his twin.
Inside the blackness, Entity was laughing. “Your attack didn't destroy me last time! You know how my adaptations work... I'm immune! I'll never be hurt!”
Sorcerer screamed louder, pumping yet more power into his failing body. “But this time, I'll make sure you stay!” Sorcerer screamed. “Warp Magic... FULL OUTPUT!”
The ring exploded, taking Sorcerer's finger with it, yet the man felt no pain as the metallic blue and black lightning of the Warp Magic filled the small bubble of Universe Sorcerer had created. “IMPLOSION SEQUENCE.... NOW!!!!” Sorcerer's voice kept rising in volume as the pain and energy overwhelmed his senses, somehow managing to reach above the monstrous sound-levels of the energy reverberating through the blackness of the pseudo-universe.
Frederic and the Gerius watched in morbid fascination, feeling the bleed-off of power coming through the dimensional walls that separated them from the two combatants inside. Suddenly, the black sphere turned a brilliant white, and Frederic bent his head.
This is... the total release of an entire universe's magic... unlimited power, lasting one second... Frederic hadn't finished his thought before the now brilliant white ball collapsed in on itself... and vanished without making a sound.
“He... did it,” Xander whispered. “He destroyed it!”
The other Gerius simply nodded, before all of them bent their heads, and each gave their own thought of mourning for their fallen teacher, friend, and ally.
Sorcerer... was dead.
To be
continued in episode 39