Volume Seven - War

## Chapter 73 - On the Horizon

"The armada consists of one thousand ships, and each ship holds one thousand soldiers." Rosenstock says. "About half of this armada are airships, and on the flagship will be the inner circle of Darkstar." "We plan on doing something to get to this flagship. It's a dictatorship, get rid of the head and the body crumbles." Demetrius adds. "And we're running out of time, they're already somewhat in the distance." Grimwald then says. "We have all our soldiers and vehicles ready, because no doubt Darkstar's full-scale attack is a true declaration of war." Dione finishes.

"Who do you think will attack this place first, out of all of them?" Jack asks. "Hard to say. Darkstar doesn't exactly reveal their strategies." Demetrius answers. "You should all be stationed around the entrances, of which there are three." "Jack, Andromeda, you will guard Entrance A." Rosenstock says. "Kasper, Candice, you will guard Entrance B. Shunsuke and SPT7 will guard Entrance C." Rosenstock draws both his swords and looks at the approaching armada. "And I...will be on the frontlines."

Shunsuke and SPT7 were quick to run to where they needed to go, which happened to be at the bottom of the castle. Well, it was an entrance after all, Shunsuke thought to himself. He and the robotic knight didn't take too long to get to where the entrance was, and it was already open, a dragon-like creature just outside, as standing there, illuminated by lightning, was a man with a somewhat tall and thin face, with white hair, wearing a hunter's uniform in Darkstar's colors and carrying a crossbow.

"Are you Sebastian?" Shunsuke asks, only getting a smile from the man. "Yes, I am...I am the Socqreath Killer, Sebastian Brandvold!" Sebastian says. "I see..." Shunsuke replies, as he notices SPT7 rushing at Sebastian to bash him away with his shield. Sebastian lands on his feet and fires something that looked like a skewer with a bomb on it at SPT7, the arrow exploding and leaving a crack in the robot's shield. Sebastian then sidesteps a slash from SPT7 before firing an arrow at Shunsuke, who lets it stab into his arm as he uses his free hand to crush the bomb before it explodes.

"You like my arrows?" Sebastian mocks, as he fires another at Shunsuke, who whacks it out of the air as he runs to punch Sebastian, who dodges the blow as he kicks Shunsuke in the stomach, somewhat making him flinch. "Gh..." Shunsuke grunts, as Sebastian laughs. "I chose Socqreath because they were strong...show me your strength." He says. Sebastian then takes out a knife and thrusts it at Shunsuke's neck, Shunsuke sliding back to not be stabbed there as Sebastian smiles. "So, you aren't a brick." Sebastian remarks. "Good."

Sebastian then throws the knife at Shunsuke, who lets it cut into his arm as he grabs a crate and looks inside to make sure it is empty, as he sees it is and throws it at Sebastian, who leaps out of the way and fires what looked like a firework at Shunsuke, who crosses his arms to block the explosion but is sent back. "Ugh!" Shunsuke grunts, as he lowers his arms and is kicked in the face by Sebastian, before realizing that SPT7 was slashing apart a bear trap. "What...?" Shunsuke demands, as he kicks Sebastian to send him at the bear trap, breaking it in half.

"Well...that was unexpected." Sebastian remarks, as he flips backwards to not be slashed by SPT7 before leaping onto his dragon thing and flying away. "I'll go after him!" Shunsuke shouts, as SPT7 stands there and looks on at the battalion of Darkstar soldiers. Shunsuke leaps onto a small jet and pilots it out into the stormy skies, flying after Sebastian.

## Chapter 74 - Entrance A

Andromeda and Jack had managed to get to Entrance A by now, as Andromeda quickly caught what looked like railgun rounds to protect Jack, who began to help the Royal Guards fend off against the Darkstar soldiers. "They're already here?" Andromeda demands. "It's a scout force! They're here to gather intel and weaken defenses!" Jack answers, as he keeps shooting while hiding behind a crate. "Then I won't let them..." Andromeda replies, as she walks over to the soldiers and begins to cut their heads off. The Royal Guards back away while continuing to fight, as there were a great many of this one scout force.

Always in the action, always fighting, no breaks, no telling what would come next, these were what everyone in Rosenstock's forces were meant to expect. Yet Darkstar...they were expected yet unexpected, they almost seemed like a separate country at times. It was difficult to keep track of all their forces, and this was clearly a full-scale assault...yet something seemed off. Jack thought he was seeing bullets come from the trees. "A sniper!" Jack shouts, as he rushes past the Royal Guards and begins to fire into the trees, Andromeda running after him and leaving the Royal Guards to fend off the castle themselves.

Jack didn't think he heard the bullets strike anyone, so he rushes into the forest, Andromeda continuing to follow him to protect him. Then, they saw the entire rifle fly towards them from the darkness, as it explodes. Andromeda manages to shield Jack from the worst of it, but they were left burned and staring at the flames. There was someone standing there, cocking some sort of gun. He then aims and fires, as it turns out to be a laser! Andromeda and Jack barely dodge as Jack fires at the figure, who rushes at them and swings at them with a Wakizashi, the figure was wearing a hood, but Jack thought he recognized what little face he could see.

"Gah!" Jack shouts, holding his side in pain as he fires at the figure some more. Andromeda tries to cut at him before grabbing, managing to rip the cloak off. They were shocked to see who it was, but also not quite surprised...it was Tsunoi, and half his face was blue, his left eye orange and half his hair a lighter blue, a black draconic horn protruding from the side of his head. "What...what is...?" Jack was dumbfounded to see this, as Tsunoi smiles. "I've been given some...enhancements." Tsunoi says, as Jack instinctively leaps back, which was lucky, because Andromeda had blocked a Psychic Weapon shaped like a scalpel.

"Come on, why would I, with all my intellect, want to stay human?" Tsunoi asks, as he fires at Jack again, Jack reflecting the laser with his gun as he feels it heat up. Tsunoi appeared to be holding something in his hand, Andromeda was able to tell it was the same scalpel. Andromeda blocks it using a Psychic Weapon, before Tsunoi twirls around and jams the scalpel into her thigh, before leaping away to not be hit by an angered Andromeda. "NO! YOU DON'T--" "This is a battle. Enemies fight dirty." Tsunoi interrupts Andromeda, tilting his glasses upwards with two fingers. Andromeda tries to rush at him, but her leg wouldn't move.

"Ugh! What?!" Andromeda demands. "My Psychic Weapons don't cut flesh, they cut nerves." Tsunoi answers. "I've paralyzed your entire leg, and your head will be next." Tsunoi then dodges bullets from Jack, as he runs at him. "I won't let you!" Jack shouts, as he tries to kick Tsunoi in the face, Tsunoi tilting his head back and thrusting the scalpel at Jack, who, noticing Tsunoi's hand moving, ducks and tries to punch Tsunoi in the stomach, Tsunoi sidestepping the punch before kneeing Jack in the chest, Jack feeling, and hearing, ribs crack, as he flies backwards into a tree. "GAH!" Jack screams, as he tries to get back up and shoot at Tsunoi.

Tsunoi ducks beneath the bullets and, before Jack's gun could unload the next shot, rush over to Jack and slash him in the arm with his scalpel, paralyzing it and causing Jack to drop his gun. "Gah! No!" Jack shouts, as Tsunoi grabs him by the collar and lifts him to his feet, before punching him in the face multiple times and finishing with a kick to his stomach. Tsunoi smiles at Jack's conditions, before feeling his cheek, which had been cut by a knife Jack had been holding. "Heh...aren't you clever." Tsunoi says, as he picks up Jack's gun and prepares to fire at him with it, before his eyes turn to see something and leaps back, dropping the gun.

"You will not hurt him!" Andromeda growls, as Tsunoi smiles. "I recall us being in this position, three to four, maybe five years ago." Tsunoi replies. "I wasn't keeping track." Andromeda then notices that her leg was becoming less numb. "Oh, and the trolley? I saved them all because I wanted to run tests on them." Tsunoi finishes, as Jack fires at him with his other arm, although he was much less accurate using his non-dominant hand. Tsunoi smiles as he dodges all the bullets and rushes to spin-kick Jack in the neck, Jack ducking and kicking Tsunoi in the crotch, Tsunoi grunting as he headbutts Jack back to the ground, cutting his head with his horn.

"That was embarrassing, so I won't even give you an honorable death." Tsunoi says. "Instead, I'll twist your head one hundred and eighty degrees!" Tsunoi's Socqreath eye almost seemed to glow when he said this, and his face was a psychotic grin. Tsunoi then prepares to grab Jack's head, before they hear Andromeda's voice. "Hey!" Andromeda shouts, as they turn to see her holding Tsunoi's gun in her left hand. "Smile at this, asshole." Andromeda says, as she fires the gun at max power and speed as many times as she could before it overheated.

## Chapter 75 - Time Will Be My Judge

Kasper and Candice rush into Entrance B, where there was a massive battalion of Darkstar soldiers coming from ships. "They're spreading our resources thin." Kasper remarks, as he creates a shield made of pixelated hexagons to block railgun rounds from the soldiers, but it didn't take very many to begin overwhelming him. "Gh!" Kasper grunts, as he falls back and hides behind a crate, before creating a missile launcher and firing a missile at the soldiers, managing to take out some of them, but they kept coming.

Candice had ducked behind a crate as well, and was firing at them with one of the guns that were in said crate. "How many of these guys are there?!" Candice shouts. "I...I don't know." Kasper answers, as Candice looks at him with a worried expression on her face. Then, a number of drones fly into the entrance and begin firing small missiles at the soldiers, managing to take out more and more. There were too many soldiers however, and the drones were destroyed. "They knew there would be countermeasures." Kasper remarks, as he fires another missile at the soldiers.

The soldiers just kept coming, just kept firing, they were beginning to destroy the crates that Candice and Kasper were hiding behind. Kasper decides to create something he thought was risky but hoped would pay off--a massive grenade. He throws it at the soldiers, who try to fire it out of the air, but couldn't do so fast enough. The bomb exploded, annihilating the soldiers closest to it and killing or injuring the rest. Kasper and Candice then run to one of the small speedboats that were beside the ships. "We need to get to that massive one on the water, it's probably where the people leading this attack are!" Kasper shouts, as Candice nods.

The journey on the speedboat was a difficult one, as lasers and harpoons were flying every which way, and the two forcefields Kasper had around the speedboat were cracking already. They tried to get towards the flagship regardless, and noticed multiple speedboats coming their way. Kasper aims the cannon on theirs towards one of the speedboats the Darkstar soldiers were on, and one explosive cannonball seemed to break through the one forcefield and knock out the soldier piloting that speedboat. The other soldier fires a cannonball at Kasper and Candice's speedboat, destroying both shields and knocking Kasper back.

Candice takes the wheel and tries to pilot the speedboat, as Kasper was firing the cannon at the Darkstar soldier's, said soldier's speedboat dodging the cannonballs, which Candice had their speedboat do too. The cannonballs hit various large ships, causing them to be damaged as they looked as though they could sink. Then, Kasper decides to fire a missile at the speedboat, but this was dodged too. Candice then tries something risky, as she attempts to turn off the forcefield around the Darkstar soldier's speedboat. It somewhat worked, but the forcefield appeared to make of more than just light.

It was all Kasper needed though, as he sends two more missiles in the Darkstar soldier's direction. He dodges the first one, but ends up going to where the second one was heading, being hit as the speedboat is destroyed and the soldier sent into the water. Candice and Kasper then notice that they were essentially right next to the flagship, as they enter the docking bay. "Identify." The A.I. at the docking bay says, as Kasper hacks into it to make it think they were soldiers of Darkstar so that they could sneak through. It was difficult due to the cameras and soldiers, and before they could enter the bridge, they noticed soldiers aiming at them from both sides.

"Crap..." Kasper mutters, as he then creates another forcefield, but this time a different one. When the Darkstar soldiers fired at it, the rounds were reflected, and exploded in the soldiers' faces. Candice then cuts the lock and kicks the door down, before hopping on one foot. "Ow! Ow Ow!" Candice yells, as they hear laughing and see a man standing in front of the bridge's window, with his back turned. He seemed to be wearing an admiral's uniform, but in Darkstar's colors and had what looked like two rocket launchers, both also in Darkstar's colors.

"So, two children entered my flagship?" The admiral asks, sounding amused. "Then I, Admiral and General Ecyrb, welcome you aboard...to die." The admiral, Ecyrb, says, as he takes out a gun and fired large, explosive bullets from it, Candice and Kasper doing their best to dodge as they fired at Ecyrb, who ducks beneath his desk and holds his hand up to keep firing the explosive bullets, before putting his hand down and taking out a longer pistol before firing what looked like an anti-tank round from it. Candice and Kasper both make shields, as they are destroyed by the explosion, but manage to mostly protect the two of them.

"You two are talented. Why not join Darkstar? The money and uniforms got me in." Ecyrb says. "Then again, you're goody-two shoes heroes. Don't know why I asked." Ecyrb then appears from behind the desk with the rocket launchers in his hands and on his shoulders, he fires rockets at them, as they are unable to dodge and do everything they can to block. Despite this, they still screamed from the searing burns left on their arms and torso, as Kasper fired rockets at Ecyrb, who twirls and flips out of their way before kicking a button. They then see multiple large bomb craft flying towards them, firing missiles.

"You can't survive this." Ecyrb says, as Candice and Kasper run out of the room and into the elevator, Kasper just cutting the wires to make them fall, as they heard someone jump onto the elevator, no doubt Ecyrb. They heard and felt the missiles hit the flagship, as it was clearly mostly destroyed. They fell down to the docking bay and heard the ship crash into other ships. "The coral reef here is helping to keep us afloat, but that won't be true for much longer." Ecyrb says, as he fires more rockets at Kasper, who blocks them the best he can. Candice sneaks up from behind Ecyrb and cuts at the rocket launchers, destroying them.

"Well, fuck." Ecyrb remarks, but he was smiling. He then takes grenades out of his pockets and pulls the pins, as he throws one at Candice and one at Kasper. Candice is hit head on, and uses a Psychic Weapon to somewhat block, and Kasper dodges as he lets the grenade hit the water, exploding beneath it. Ecyrb then grabs Candice by the neck and pulls her towards him, as he places what looked like a laser gun to her head. "Surrender, or her brain is fried." Ecyrb growls. Kasper just stands there, as he tries to think about a way to free Candice and kill Ecyrb. Then, Ecyrb roars in pain as his arm had fallen off.

Candice gasps, surprised at what she had done, and Kasper takes the opportunity to punch Ecyrb in the face, knocking him off balance. Ecyrb tries to get up, but Kasper kicks him in the stomach. "GAH!" Ecyrb growls, as he tries to grab and twist Kasper's leg, but Kasper punches Ecyrb in the neck, as he places his hands here while gasping. Ecyrb then uses one hand to aim his gun at Kasper's face, Kasper making a forcefield to reflect it back at Ecyrb, the bullet hitting him in the shoulder as he grunts in pain. "You think you can kill me?! I WILL BE THE ONE TO--"

Before Ecyrb could finish, a beam of light hit his head, leaving a hexagonal hole in his brain. Ecyrb's last expression was one of shock, before he perished. "What?!" Kasper shouts, as he looks around for the sniper. Please let whoever it is be on their side. "He would've died anyway..." A voice said from another ship, as Kasper sees another beam of light, which pierces Candice's leg, leaving the same hexagonal hole. "GAH!" Candice screams, as Kasper catches her. "Candice?!" Kasper shouts, worried. Then, he sees a man wearing a white shirt with green fur and gold armor on, along with a turned 90 degrees admiral's cap made of green fur, landed in front of the speedboat.

"I'm surprised you didn't call her 'Candy', given your current behavior." The man says, as Kasper could see he had darkened skin, and an odd, clock-like symbol on his shirt, which was sleeveless. His eyes were green, or rather, one was, the left eye was mostly closed, and seemed to glow yellow. "My name is Kafziel. I am here to impart judgement onto you for greatly damaging the timeline." He then aims what looked like a sniper rifle with green fur and golden plating on it, along with a hexagon shaped muzzle.

## Chapter 76 - Storm Chase

The lightning crashed around them, as the rain fell hard. Shunsuke did the best to follow after Sebastian, whose dragon seemed suited for this weather, as it weaved around the lightning and was only moderately wet, while it was almost impossible to clearly see through the forcefield due to the rain and it was constantly struck by lightning. Shunsuke tries to fire heat-seeking missiles at Sebastian, who has his dragon fly around to evade them until they explode. He then has his dragon breath what looked like burning acid at Shunsuke, but the forcefield around the strike craft held up.

"Gh!" Shunsuke grunts, as he has the forcefield expand outwards and explode. When the smoke clears, he sees Sebastian still on his dragon, which was only moderately burned. Shunsuke covers his head with his arm and fires a laser gun at Sebastian, who uses a skewer made of darkened metal to reflect the lasers away. "Damn...what are you...?" Shunsuke demands, as a beam of light flies up and evaporates the rain, while making them all cover their eyes. Sebastian leaps off his dragon, who had been blinded by the light, and drives the skewer at Shunsuke, who grabs it and feels its bladed end cut through his skin.

Shunsuke tries to snap the blade off, but he can't. "Ugh...what?" Shunsuke asks. "It's made of a special metal that is hyper-durable." Sebastian answers, as he drives another skewer at Shunsuke's eye, Shunsuke tilting his head and chest back to dodge as he lets go of the other skewer and steps back, continuing to dodge the skewers at all costs, knowing he couldn't break them. Sebastian then throws the skewers down and prepares to fire a missile at Shunsuke from a launcher on his back, but another beam of light zooms past them, almost hitting the wing. "Oh, for the love of..." Sebastian growls, as he aims carefully and fires the missile down.

He then uses the missile launcher to block Shunsuke's punch, which bends the missile launcher as Sebastian flips around to swing it at Shunsuke's face, Shunsuke ducking beneath it as he kicks Sebastian, almost sending him off the strike craft as he uses a skewer to hold on by driving it into the craft. "You aren't going to beat me that easily!" Sebastian shouts, as he leaps up and punches Shunsuke in the face, making his nose bleed. Sebastian then thrusts the skewers at him again, managing to stab Shunsuke in the shoulder. "Gh!" Shunsuke shouts, as he sees the other skewer coming towards his face.

## Chapter 77 - The Burning Forest

Trees and fragments of trees were flying through the air and burning, the fire being hot enough to evaporate the water somewhat and continue burning even in this storm. Regardless, Tsunoi had dodged every single laser, and rushes to slash at Andromeda with the scalpel, Andromeda blocking with a Psychic Weapon before whacking Tsunoi in the head with a gun and kicking at him, Tsunoi leaping backwards and throwing bombs at her, Andromeda dodges them as they explode and runs to pick up Jack to protect him. She then grabs more trees and throws them at Tsunoi, who had grabbed his gun and was dodging the trees as he fired back at them.

"I should have killed you then and there, all the way back then! Then, I would already have won!" Tsunoi shouts, as he keeps firing at Andromeda, who dodges or with her Psychic Weapons blocks the lasers. "I won't keep falling for the same tricks." Andromeda says, as she boosts herself up right when butterfly bombs that were at her feet explode, destroying the ground and causing her to lose balance, as she catches herself and punches the ground to shake it. Tsunoi flips upwards and prepares to fire at her again, but a beam of light shoots through his gun, leaving a hexagonal hole in it.

"What?!" Tsunoi demands, as he creates a sword in the shape of a scalpel and runs at Andromeda to slash her, Andromeda blocking with another Psychic Weapon as Tsunoi slides his blade around it and runs around it too, as he cuts Andromeda across the shoulder, paralyzing it for a while. "Gah!" Andromeda growls, as she leaps back to try and set Jack down, but Tsunoi slashes at her across the face, cutting her nose and nearly getting to her eye. "Gh!" Andromeda grunts, as she slams a Psychic Weapon on the ground to send up a cloud of dust, before running to where the Royal Guard were and setting Jack down. "I'll protect you..." Andromeda says.

## Chapter 78 - The Angel of Time

Kasper tries to send missiles at Kafziel yet again, but just like all the other times, they seemed to phase through his body, no matter what they were made of. "That won't work..." Kasper remarks, as he creates an antimatter bomb at Kafziel and sends it at him, Kafziel sniping it out of the air as it explodes far away from them. "You thought that would work?" Kafziel demands. "You clearly have no idea what you're up against." "I'm up against a sniper." Kasper answers, as he creates a cage around Kafziel. "That one's made of energy. You won't be phasing through it." "Is that what you think?" Kafziel asks, as he aims his rifle at Kasper.

A beam of light pierces through both the cage and Kasper's heart, as Kasper, coughs up blood and falls to the ground, dropping his console. The cage vanishes as Kafziel turns his attention towards Candice. Then, he is shot in the back as the bullet phases through him, and turns around to see Kasper standing there, completely fine. "What...?" Kazfiel demands. "I'll kill you again if I must." Kafziel then snipes Kasper in the head again, but as he falls, he explodes into digital light pixels.

"...You're cloning yourself." Kafziel remarks, as he looks around and then snipes down about six more clones, before Kasper sends missiles, tank rounds, bullets, really anything, but none of them even touched Kafziel. Kafziel then turns around and leaps off the ship, as a missile hits it and destroys it completely. "You're not on this ship..." Kafziel remarks, as he turns to fire down another boat and sees Candice and Kasper flying from it to another with a hoverboard. Kafziel then fires down the hoverboard, as they are forced to land on the same boat he does.

"This isn't good..." Kasper remarks, as he feels Candice moaning from the pain in her leg, which wasn't regenerating. "Are you wondering why she isn't regenerating?" Kafziel asks from behind Kasper, who leaps back and sees him standing there. "Whatever my light touches, is kept in one state forever. And...it can instantly pierce anything." "What...?" Kasper demands, as he continues walking backwards. Kafziel walks forwards, as he aims at Kasper's head. "I am Kafziel, the Angel of Time. I exist to prevent sinners like you from causing damage to the past, present and future." He says.

"Really...and what makes you think I've messed with the timeline?" Kasper asks. "The chip in your spine." Kafziel answers bluntly. "It will be made in 3457 A.D. for the leader of a rebel cause. Thanks to that chip, he is able to save New Earth from destruction." "What...?" Kasper breathes. "Without that chip, this planet dies, and destroying the enemies in the future would only further damage the timeline." Kafziel says. "Then I'll just confront whoever these enemies are after this fight...it's not like I can't dodge attacks." Kasper replies, as he feels a hole appear in his leg as he screams and falls to his knees.

"Disgusting. You talk back to an angel and are so full of arrogance simply because you can stand." Kafziel says. "Do you think you can hurt me? That you will be leaving this alive? I could wipe out every single combatant in this war at once, if doing so wasn't detrimental to the timeline." "All this talk...but how am I supposed to believe you're actually an angel and not a sniper from another country?" Kasper asks. "After all, this kind of world...why would God let it be in existence?" "Because God promotes free will." Kafziel answers. "And if you still need proof, I will give it to you. That...and judgement."

Then, Kafziel's left eye opens and he immediately snipes the real Kasper and Candice, leaving a hole in Kasper's shoulder and Candice's knee, as both shout in pain. "When I open both my eyes, I am able to see all things." Kafziel says. "All timelines, all locations, everything. But...I know that won't convince you." Kafziel then begins to glow. "So now...allow me to show you my true form." Kafziel began to warp and change, and was becoming brighter and brighter by the millisecond, burning away the rain with his presence. "I am the Speed of God and Guardian of Time, and I, Kafziel, WILL PUNISH YOU SINNERS!" Kafziel roars in pure anger, as an explosion of light erupts from his body.

## Chapter 79 - Blinding Light

All of the rain was vaporized, in fact, so were the clouds, reduced to plasma. Shunsuke could feel the heat burn away at the ship they were on, and leave blisters on his skin, and Sebastian wasn't faring any better. "What-what is this?!" Sebastian screams. "What's going on?!" Shunsuke tries to take advantage of Sebastian's confusion to punch him in the face, but Sebastian notices him and stabs him in the fist with the now burning hot spear, slicing through his arm like butter. "GRAH!" Shunsuke screams, as Sebastian turns to look at what it is and immediately turns his head to look away.

"WHAT?! WHAT IS?! HOW IS THIS EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE TO POSSIBLE?!" Sebastian shrieks, as his skin was beginning to boil, as was Shunsuke's. They screamed in pure, white hot agony as everything around them was burning, it was unbearable in every sense of the word, every way, shape and form. It felt as though the sun had made its way to Earth. There was no way to tell what was happening anymore, Shunsuke thought he had gone blind, but he felt himself falling, before being pushed by something. The heat?

Andromeda closes her eyes and tries to shield Jack from the heat, as she felt her body burning immensely. "GAH! WHAT IS THIS?!" Andromeda screams, as she heard whimpering and knew Jack must be feeling the heat too. She then sees Tsunoi standing over her, gritting his teeth in pain but glaring at the as he holds his scalpel, ready to strike them with it. "It's over." Tsunoi growls, as he brings the Scalpel down on Andromeda, who tries to make a Psychi Weapon, but is too in pain to focus. But they were saved, as Kiyomasu had blocked Tsunoi's scalpel with his cane, and was sweating from the heat.

"What are you doing here, you fool?!" Tsunoi roars. "What are you still doing here, Tsunoi?" Kiyomasu asks in response, as he makes his cane erupt an energy blast to attack Tsunoi with, but the energy blast was reduced to nothing and blown away by the energy. "What?!" Kiyomasu demands, as he tilts back to dodge a kick from Tsunoi before realizing his heat shield was dissipating as well. "What even has this much energy...?" "I know what it has to be, but it's unbelievable in this galaxy." Tsunoi answers. "You're right...it's...the power of an angel." Kiyomasu responds.

## Chapter 80 - Time of Judgement

As the light dissipated, everyone that could saw Kafziel floating there, a massive, armless man with an odd shape replacing his legs and golden armor on his torso and head, which only had a glowing spot for a face. He had massive, glowing butterfly wings and hexagonal holes all over his body. He still radiated light, heat and power even after the aura explosion, and looking at him felt like...staring into the face of God--

Kasper immediately feels a hexagonal hole go through his console and heart -- the real Kasper! He falls to his knees, gasping for air he could no longer get. Candice tried to crawl to him, but her hands were blown off by...nothing. There were just hexagonal holes where her hands used to be. "GAH!" Candice screams, as Kafziel then flies upwards and--

Hexagonal holes everywhere, in everyone. Jack, Andromeda, Tsunoi, Kiyomasu, Shunsuke, Sebastian, the Royal Guard, Rosenstock, all of them screamed from unbearably pain as they had all been struck fatally, and fell to the ground. Kafziel flew into the sky and fired visible lasers, which now caused massive explosions, damaging everything in the vicinity. Then, Kafziel turns around and sees Kasper standing up with a smaller version of the console in his hand and his wound somehow repaired, although it seemed to be only digital.

"I won't let you destroy my world!" Kasper shouts, as Kafziel strikes him, but he had already made a clone, and was above Kafziel, he then fires as many different weapons as he can at him, but a forcefield stopped all of them. Kasper then teleports to a still-working flagship in the air and tries to think of another plan, but Kafziel was immediately flying above him. "You can never escape the watchful gaze and endless speed of the Angel of Time!" Kafziel roars. "Prepare for justice!"

Before anyone can do anything, before even an atom could change, a beam of light shot through the flagship, causing an explosion that left nothing within it and had the two halves fall. As Kasper fell, Kafziel was already there, and firing at him. Kasper's console was destroyed, and the pockets, and his lung, as Kafziel had just barely missed. Kasper falls onto the remains of a shield with a grunt as blood pools around him. He shakily stands up, leaning and clutching his wound, as Kafziel flies in front of him.

"Your sins, they are endless, Kasper Maibaum." Kafziel says. "Your sins...and that of your servants." Kasper's eyes widen, as he turns to see Gerald standing there with a somber expression on his face. "This is...what I didn't want to tell you about." Gerald remarks. "I worship and fear Kafziel, and he granted me my power, I used it to grant you your microchip, and I am the only one who should receive judgement for it. Forgive me...Young Master Maibaum...Kasper."

Gerald's legs are blown off as he screams in agony, and falls to the ground. "All sins to the timeline...must be punished." Kafziel says. "Wait!" Kasper shouts, as he was now on the ground once again, crying from the pain, and had used a scalpel he created earlier to dig the chip out of his own spine, and was now showing it to Kafziel. "Please...just bring it back...please fix everything..." Kafziel pleads. "All my friends...all my family...everyone...they're all dead...b-because I was selfish..." Kasper's tears then included sadness as he thought of all his friends, his family, the rulers, all no doubt dead on the ground right now because of that chip.

"I...repent." Kasper finishes, as he collapses to the ground from his injuries, feeling his own life leave him. "Please...please save everyone...and the future...I'm...sorry..." Kasper whispered, crying harder. Candice, Andromeda, Jack, Shunsuke, Kiyomasu, all of them flashed through his mind, along with his life, as he closed his eyes, and prepared for the end...the end of it all.

Then...he felt his wounds healing, he felt things being repaired. He looks up and sees that...it was almost like time was reversing, but nothing was going back to any previous positions. Yet...Darkstar was not being healed. "I...forgive you." Kafziel says slowly, as he stares at Kasper, his aura weakening as the air was no longer searing hot, and the rain began to fall again. "You have made...a noble decision. For this act of selflessness, I will grant your wish, but to preserve the timeline enough, I cannot resurrect Darkstar's forces." Kafziel replies. "I am also taking off the regeneration lock, and leaving you with a warning, do not mess with time, and more importantly, love yourself for who you are, rather than what you think is best for dominance. Or I will...destroy you."

Soon, everyone except the soldiers of Darkstar, their technology, and Tsunoi, were healed, and Kafziel flew up into the sky, but not before turning to Andromeda. "You...must survive..." Kafziel remarks, as he vanishes into thin air.

Kasper looked on as the rain fell on him, almost hiding the tears that still filled his eyes. Then, he rolled onto his back and saw Candice standing over him with a saddened, yet relieved, face. She lays down and softly hugs him, as he knew she was crying. Gerald then throws down his eyepiece. "Forgive me, Kasper. I do not deserve to be your servant with these actions, please accept my resignation." He says. "If that is...what you want...I hope you have a great life from this moment on." Kasper replies, as he closes his eyes and hugs Candice back.

The war was won, but what had been the cost...?

## Chapter 81 - The Shazarak Return

It had been at least a few weeks, maybe a few months, since that attack, and everyone was still so confused.

First and foremost, what had happened?

Jack had felt the heat, heard the words and knew the light must have pierced him, but it was also so vague and blurry. Everything up until the light was clear, but the light itself, he couldn't make out much detail during it. But he heard from Kasper, that apparently an angel had entered the battlefield, and decimated it. Well...at least they won the war because of it. Yet...Jack felt that he was nowhere close to safe. Darkstar had to be decimated after that attack, but he felt uneasy despite it. And he still remembered...them.

But, they had recovered. Their wounds were healed and the structures were being rebuilt. The many fallen warships made for good materials, and the technology acquired meant that they would know Darkstar's advances inside and out, something Demetrius seemed extra happy about. Jack looked over with a small smile, as Andromeda had been resting her head on his shoulder for a while now. He liked these peaceful moments, they felt so fleeting at times, and he thought that once they got the last bit of unfinished business down, they could be happy.

CLANG!

Jack's heart immediately began to pound harder when he heard the sudden clang, he almost thought it might burst from the shock, but he was more experienced than that. He gently lays Andromeda's head down on a pillow and puts a blanket on her as he picks up his gun and opens the door, before closing it and putting his back against the wall and holding his gun up in front of his head, turning his head and eyes to look towards the hallways. A grate was on the ground. He then turns the lights on, but moments later, they shut off as electrical sparks flew out of the ceiling light.

"Who's there?!" Jack shouts, whirling around and pointing his gun at what used to be behind him...which was nothing. Silence except the sparks, darkness except the flickers. He thought he heard something move like metal clattering and turns to shoot at where he heard it from, which was to his right. Nothing there. "What is going on...?" Jack demands, his heart pounding as sweat rolled down his face. This couldn't possibly be one of them...could it? Were they back? Darkstar? Those Shazarak monsters?

"Wh-what's going on?! Tell me who's there!" Jack screams, not able to contain his fear anymore as he was breathing heavily. He knew he had to be better than this, but if it was one of those monsters...he didn't want to feel his flesh be consumed! These things weren't just enemies...they were monsters! He begins to fire guns in random places, and when the walls were illuminated, nothing was there, except a vague shadow. Then, Jack hears clattering behind him, and slowly turns around to see Bellatrix standing there, smiling at him with a fanged mouth.

"Hello...Jack." Bellatrix says, as Jack screams while firing his gun, Bellatrix dodging or blocking the bullets as she grabs Jack's gun with one of the spider leg-like appendages on her back before throwing it to the side and grabbing Jack by the neck with the same appendage. "Please, you think bullets will hurt me?" Bellatrix demands. "You are clearly idiotic." Bellatrix' smile becomes more sadistic, as she slashes Jack across the chest, making him scream, and throwing him into a wall, cracking it.

"How long does it take for a girl to get her accessories? You really are annoying to resist." Bellatrix says. "I-I'm not your lunch!" Jack shouts, stuttering from the fear, as he notices his gun beside him. "Not my lunch? I don't want to eat you, Jack...I want to rip you apart...starting with--GAH!" Jack had managed to fire at Bellatrix in the eye, stunning her as she writhes in pain and holds her eye. Jack uses this time to escape and get his back against a wall around the corner, panting. He keeps running, firing behind him, looking up and waving his hand in front of him. He did not want to be caught off guard again.

Jack keeps running, keeps panting, keeps sweating, as he hears clattering above him and fires his gun into the grate. He then hears something fall on the ground and turns to the right as he backed up into the hallway, firing at Bellatrix, who's eye had regenerated, and whose eyes were glowing, dimly illuminating her face as her body was largely a silhouette. She blocks the bullets with her arms/legs and rushes at Jack, hissing like a serpent, yet using her legs like a spider. Jack backs away as fast as he can, yelping from fright. "Get back!" Jack yells, as he trips on a fold in the rug and falls on his feet.

He begins to back away while still on the ground, but Bellatrix was fast on her legs, and earlier had dodged some bullets by crawling partial on walls. She laughs softly and prepares to stab him, as Jack kicks her in the face, not even making it move, but hearing cracking. "...GRAH!" Jack screams in agony, as tears roll down his eyes and he holds his leg in pain. Bellatrix' laughter grows, before she gets a hold of herself. "What a pathetic creature you are." She says. "I find it hard to believe that Andromeda, our future Queen, would find value in you." Jack's eyes dart to the side to see a grenade shaped like a vase. That might do the trick...but...

Bellatrix was already aiming her legs at him, as she thrusts them forward, Jack closing his eyes tightly and whimpering.

He felt nothing.

Jack cautiously opened one eye, and saw that something was holding Bellatrix' legs in place, and immediately knew what it was. His eyes adjusted and he saw Andromeda standing there, looking worried and furious. "What are you doing...with him?" Andromeda demands. "Killing him, of course." Bellatrix answers coldly, as a slash mark appears on her face, and sweat mark on Andromeda's. "Gah!" Bellatrix growls, as she thrusts more of her legs at Andromeda, who tries to block all of them but is unable to, as one strikes her right arm, cutting through it like butter. Andromeda holds her arm in pain and grits her teeth.

She then sees Jack standing up against the wall, as the grenade was at Bellatrix' feet. "Hahahaha...is this all you can do?" Bellatrix demands, as Andromeda then gives her a small, almost evil looking smile in this light. "No." Andromeda answers, as she flips back a few feet and supposedly surrounds herself in Psychic Weapons, as she strikes an axe to ignite it before throwing it at the grenade, which Bellatrix finally notices. "What?! No--" Bellatrix is cut off by the explosion, which decimates and blasts back the walls, roof and floor, and sets the building on fire.

Jack feels Andromeda hold him in her arms, as they then turn to see debris moving. Bellatrix rises from them, holding her chestplate in pain and glaring at them, half her face illuminated by the moon. "You...will pay for this!" Bellatrix roars, as all eight of her legs rise up around her, also illuminated by the moon light. She makes two of them into actual feet and slams them onto the ground to boost herself into the air, her shape a silhouette against the moon and her eyes illuminated. She swings her bladed legs at them, as Andromeda manages to block with a Psychic Weapon and leap back.

"You...I thought we destroyed your ship..." Andromeda growls. "You did, but we escaped, all of us but Proto." Bellatrix replies. "Thank you for destroying him, by the way. I hated that robot." Bellatrix then raises her legs again, as Jack sees them extend via hydraulics and springs. Bellatrix then sends them at the two to stab them, Andromeda blocking with her Psychic Weapons, or at least trying to. Jack tries to fire at Bellatrix with his gun, but Bellatrix blocked the bullets with her legs and groans. "Take everyone's advice, boy." She growls. "If you survive this, switch to lasers like everyone else has."

"...Get out of here...or die." Andromeda says. "You're the one who's head will stain the ground." Bellatrix retorts with a sadistic smile, as she sends all her legs at Andromeda at once, at different angles. Andromeda manages to block at least half of them, but is cut by all but the last one, which slashes Jack across the cheek. It was so sharp that the pain was searing, and made Jack scream in agony once again. Then he remembered his chest wound, right when he thought he mighty be woozy. Or perhaps he was seeing Andromeda's weapons.

"You won't hold out for much longer." Bellatrix says. "I broke off your horns and stabbed you in the center of mass. It's over." Andromeda then shakes, as she crumples to the ground, Jack ending up being under her face-first. He tries to fire at Bellatrix, but nothing fazed the Shazarak as anything that wasn't dodged or blocked simply failed to penetrate her armor. "Jackson...Holland...you are...worthless." Bellatrix says, as she then hears beeping and looks down. "What?!" "I...planted a mine there in case someone would be there." Jack groans in pain, as he tries to give Bellatrix a cocky smile. "Let's see who's pathetic after...this..."

Jack closers and covers his eyes, as the mine beneath Bellatrix explodes, wiping out a good portion of the house behind her. Yet a burned metal heel slammed on the ground from out of the fire, followed by another, and then Bellatrix's entire body and her angry face, which now had a melted eye socket. "YOU! YOU RUINED ME!" Bellatrix shrieks. "I WILL CARVE OUT AND DEVOUR YOUR HEARTS WHOLE! YOUR BLOOD WILL SATIATE ME, AND YOUR FLESH WILL BRING ME JOY!"

Bellatrix then falls on one knee and holds her chest in pain, as she glares at the two of them. "You beasts...are...insufferable." Bellatrix growls. "I'm glad I am no longer one of you." Bellatrix then holds up her other hand, firing out some sort of electroweb, which attaches to something in the sky that flies her away into the night, but they never saw what it was.

Good...they could rest now...hopefully...

## Chapter 82 - Are you my Mother?

Candice held Kasper close, gently, and placed her forehead against his. She knew he couldn't feel everything, but she also knew he didn't have to. What mattered was that they survived, that the won...Darkstar was no more. Candice felt perfectly ready to fall asleep with Kasper in her arms. She always wanted him to know she loved him...and she didn't want him to suffer. It was peaceful here, the first peace they had in a long time, and it had lasted weeks. The moonlight shone through the window, dimly illuminating the room in a cool blue light. Candice closes her eyes, as her small and sweet smile remained.

...

Were those...footsteps?

Candice sat up slowly, feeling worried. What was that she heard? Did...someone enter the house? A door opened. There was definitely someone inside.

A couple minutes later, Candice opens the door and lightly closes it to let Kasper sleep. She walked around the house, looking with a fearful expression for the trespasser who had gotten inside. She then saw that the locks had been blown off, but she didn't hear them be. Guards were also dead on the ground with holes in their heads, holes that were still smoking. Those holes...were left behind a laser rifle. Candice runs through the mansion, panting, and at least trying to draw attention so that the culprit didn't go after Kasper. Then, she heard more footsteps, she wasn't sure why she hadn't before, unless the figure had not been moving.

Candice forms her Psychic Weapons and looks warily into the dark hallways. The lights flickered, briefly revealing something to be there. Candice leaps forward and onto the ground to dodge a laser. So it was a laser rifle. She runs back and grabs a kitchen knife, before putting it in one of her Psychic Weapons and throwing it at whoever it was. The lights flicker right then the figure turns their body to the left and sidesteps the knife. The figure appeared to be a Shazarak, with the helmet on and everything.

A drop of sweat rolls down Candice's face, as she takes a long knife, gulps, and runs at the Shazarak, using her Psychic Weapons to block the lasers. "You haven't learned much, have you?" The Shazarak says in a voice that, although metallic and distorted, sounded eerily similar to...

...to...

Candice had ended up stabbing the knife close to the other one, as her eyes were widened in pure shock and horror. She felt someone be put up against the back of her head, the rifle. "No...no, that can't be..." Candice stutters, beginning to cry.

"What can't I be?" The Shazarak asks again, that voice...now Candice was sure. She tilts her head and body to dodge the laser as she cuts the rifle in half with a Psychic Weapon but is kneed in the stomach hard enough to cough blood.

Candice holds her stomach and stands in a slumped position as she glares a the Shazarak with anger, fear, shock and despair. "Are you...my mother...Fiora Distler...?" Candice asks, to which the Shazarak in this light seemed...to nod. Candice's eyes widened further before she collapses to the ground crying. The Shazarak...Fiora...grabs Candice by the head with a clawed metal hand and throws her into, through, a wall, as she hits a Lamborghini, bending it like taffy from the force.

"Gah!" Candice yelps, as she opens one eye to see Fiora walking towards her, now fully illuminated. Her face had a metal mask on, and metal plates adorned the rest of her body as well, jagged at points, smooth at others, and Candice couldn't in any way see the eyes that...felt so kind like her own. Fiora points her arm at Candice and lowers her hand, balling it into a fist. The top of her wrist then opens up to reveal a smaller gun, which fires a laser at Candice, who boots away with her Psychic Weapons but is blasted away by the car's explosion.

She falls onto the ground and feels her knee get scraped, but she had avoided the worst of the explosion. She then gets up and sees Fiora coming towards her. Candice then begins to run away panting and fearful. But...she didn't hear chasing. Candice turns around and sees that Fiora was walking back into the mansion...to kill Kasper! "NO, MOM!" Candice screams, as she runs to the house as fast as she can, deciding to boost herself onto the window to Kasper's room, as she opens it and gets inside, locking all the doors.

"Huh...? What's happening...?" Kasper asks groggily. "Those monsters Andromeda and Jack talked about..." Candice says. "...They....they took my mother's body, and sent her here to kill us." Candice couldn't keep herself from crying, as she saw the shock in Kasper's eyes. Then, the door is hit by something, a claw bursting through the side of it. "Ah!" Kasper shouts. "This is...bad..." Candice picks Kasper up, and actively hearing him whimper from the pain of how sudden it was. She winces when hearing this, but knew it was better than them being killed.

She opens another one of the windows and sees that it was too small for them to fit through, so she uses her Psychic Weapons to smash the wall into pebbles before leaping down to the ground and catching herself before she falls. She runs as fast as she can while carrying Kasper, as she narrowly dodges another laser. Then, she turns and sees Fiora running after them, and hears her snarling like some sort of demon. It was...horrifying. She began to stop crying, and started to realize that her mother was not in that monster whatsoever. It was a shell, desecrated, mutilated and mutated by those monsters. She gently sets Kasper down on the ground.

"Please...stay safe there." Candice whispers, as she gives Kasper as reassuring a smile as she can muster, before turning towards the monster that was once her mother. It snarls at her and fires a laser, as Candice concentrates on it in the little time she had, to simply dissipate it. "Mom...I know you can't hear me..." Candice whispers. "...But...I want to thank you...for taking such good care of me when Dad was absent...for teaching me and my friends so much...for defending this country so well...for always being where when I needed it...thank you...so much..."

"...For everything."

The shell that used to be her mother shrieks like a nightmarish beast and rushes at Candice, who's face was wet with tears. The creature that was once Fiora draws closer, closer, and closer. It swings a claw at Candice's throat. Then...the claw is slashed off. It took effort, concentration and observation, but Candice had managed to do it. She then grabs her mother's shell's other hand, and flings her off the cliff, which she grabbed, attempting to get up as she snarls. Candice then picked up her mother's rifle that she had been left, and aims it at the creature's face. "Goodbye...Mom." Candice says, still crying, as she fires the rifle.

...

Fiora, the beast that was Fiora, had her face partially melted by the laser, and falls down to the ground below. Candice looks away, but the SPLAT and CRACK reached her ears, it was sickening enough that she almost vomited, and heartbreaking enough that she did sob. Candice falls on her hands and knees before putting her hands on her face.

What had she done?

## Chapter 83 - The Army of Demons

Shunsuke had been holding a small pigeon in his hand for a little while, bandaging up its leg and feeding it bird seed. When the pigeon is able to stand, he holds his hand up and lets it fly away, as he turns to see a creature wearing a knight helmet with long, katana like claws and a long segmented tail. Erzomaur.

"Are you the Shazarak who captured my friends?" Shunsuke asks, as Erzomaur simply nods. "We've returned to take this planet for our own, our forces are invading other countries." "Then we'll have to keep you guys off our planet." Shunsuke replies. "Unless you can leave yourselves." "Where would we leave to? Your friends destroyed our home." Erzomaur asks, as he rushes at Shunsuke to slash him, Shunsuke dodging as his arm, the bench he was sitting on, a lamp post and a tree are all cut, his arm being the only thing that isn't cut completely in half.

Shunsuke leaps back and grabs the top half of the lamp post out of the air, before thrusting it at Erzomaur, who cuts the top half into two halves with a finger. "You didn't scream...good. I hate hearing opponents' despair." Erzomaur says, as he rushes at Shunsuke again, Shunsuke ducking beneath the claws as he punches Erzomaur back, Erzomaur flying through the air as he lands on his feet, which dig into the ground with the claws that were replacing the toes. Erzomaur rushes at Shunsuke again, but this time ducks under a punch, as he wraps his tail around Shunsuke, binding his arms.

"Gh!" Shunsuke grunts, as Erzomaur seemed ready to cut his head off. Shunsuke then knees Erzomaur's tail, bending it enough that Erzomaur lets go. Shunsuke runs to kick Erzomaur in the face, Erzomaur tilting his head back as he slashes at Shunsuke's leg, Shunsuke reacting by pulling it back, but he still felt his foot get cut. If that had been his Femoral Artery...Shunsuke doesn't dwell on it for long, as he flips back to dodge another slash, before feeling a tree for any vibrations that might be small animals.

He felt none, and rips the tree out of the ground, before whacking it at Erzomaur, who slashes it with his claws to destroy it, but one of the splinters cut into his non-metal shoulder. "Gah!" Erzomaur shouts, as he holds his shoulder in pain and kicks at Shunsuke, who catches the leg, feeling the blades and spikes cut into his hand. He is careful not to let Erzomaur's foot cut into his wrist, as he slams Erzomaur onto the ground as hard as he can. "GRAH!" Erzomaur roars. "Stay down." Shunsuke says. "Things'll be better if you do."

Shunsuke hears growling and looks around. He couldn't see anything in the bushes, so he turns to look elsewhere. He then hears rustling and turns around to block a stab from a Shazarak that was barely better built than Erzomaur in strength. It seemed to be an assassin. Shunsuke punches it as hard as he can to try and make its death painless, its head did cave in, but it had punched him in the face in return before it died, as his nose bled profusely. Shunsuke holds his face in pain and notices at least a dozen Shazarak standing there. "Damn..." Shunsuke remarks, as he sees the Shazarak going after civilians.

"No, you won't be abducting anyone today!" Shunsuke shouts, as he runs to kick a Shazarak in the spine hard enough to snap it, but it tries to bite his foot off. He kicks its head as he hears metal creaking and breaking. He tried not to think about how these Shazarak used to be innocent civilians themselves, but it was hard. He didn't give his all necessarily because he thought he was outmatched, but to put those he saw as victims out of their misery. The other Shazarak screech and rush at Shunsuke to pile up on him, Shunsuke punching and kicking them away, even headbutting one, although that hurt.

"Gh...they just keep coming..." Shunsuke remarks. "If these are the bulk of their forces in this city...how's the rest of the world holding up...?" Shunsuke then decided to fight more tactically, as he grabs a Shazarak's head and, grunting, crushes it, grabbing a sheet of metal and stabbing another Shazarak in the neck with it. Two more Shazarak rushed at him, but he grabbed them with his hands and slammed them together, killing both. He turned to see the other seven surrounding him. They extended their claws and teeth and ran at him at once, as he assumes a purely defensive position.

The claws were sharp and the agony absurd, but Shunsuke weathered the storm as he then decided to put a hand on the ground and spin himself around, kicking all seven Shazarak hard enough to snap their necks, as he punches the head of the one that survived this, feeling its teeth slice into his fist. He turns to see that Erzomaur had left during all this, and wonders if this was a distraction. "Hopefully the others are doing better than I did..." Shunsuke remarks, as he sits down on another bench and tends to his own injuries.

## Chapter 84 - The Monster King

Kiyomasu and Dione were sent flying back by the punch that left a crater where they had been sparring. Zahsakar takes his fist out of the ground and glares at the two of them. "When you are gone, we will take the castle!" He roars, as Kiyomasu tips his hat, shrouding his eyes in shadow. "Then we won't let you kill us." Kiyomasu replies, as he swings his cane to send an energy blast at Zahsakar, who holds out his hand to let it hit his palm, before closing his hand into a fist to contain the explosion.

"Well...that's not what I wanted to happen." Kiyomasu remarks, as Zahsakar forms a cannon on his arm and fires a large energy blast from it. Dione rushes Kiyomasu out of the way as the blast hits where they were, leaving an explosion that leveled trees and even some buildings. Dione then grabs a flagpole, rips it out of the ground and whacks Zahsakar with it, Zahsakar blocking with his arm as the pole is snapped in half. "Shit. I'll just get in close!" Dione shouts, as she rushes at Zahsakar to kick at him, Zahsakar blocking with his newly dented arm.

"Grr..." Zahsakar growls, as he grabs Dione and throws her at Kiyomasu, who creates a cushion for her to land on as he hits the ground with his cane to split a crack in it towards Zahsakar, the crack erupting energy. Kiyomasu then sends an energy net at Zahsakar, who grabs it and crushes it before it can explode. "You took away our home, so we will take yours." Zahsakar snarls, as he bulrushes them, ready to ram them with his head. Dione and Kiyomasu dodge, as Kiyomasu sends an energy blast at Zahsakar and Dione kicks him. Both attacks hit, as an explosion knocks Kiyomasu away and does the same to Dione, albeit less so.

They land on their feet and turn to see a shape rising out of the smoke and fire, Zahsakar was not very badly damaged from these attacks, as he picks up a truck that had fallen and throws it at Kiyomasu, who creates a forcefield to block before turning the forcefield into energy spears and sending them at Zahsakar's limbs. Zahsakar kicks the two heading for his feet and grabs the spears that were heading towards his arms. Dione kicks him in the back of the head to send him stumbling forwards a few feet, as he turns around to whack her to the ground with his massive arms.

"Gh!" Dione grunts, as she runs to be beside Kiyomasu again. "He's certainly dangerous...and we can't let that danger continue." Kiyomasu thinks to himself, as he puts his other hand on his cane and erupts an energy blast blade out of it, rushing at Zahsakar, who dodges it as it cuts his arm somewhat. "Grah!" Zahsakar roars, as he kicks the ground to send them and the area around them into the air in chunks. Kiyomasu and Dione hop across the chunks of the ground and rush down at Zahsakar, who thrusts his hands upwards to grab them. Kiyomasu then uses his cane to propel himself and Dione away from the hands.

Kiyomasu stabs his cane into the ground again, as it seems to turn into dust which flies into the hole. Dione then rushes to kick Zahsakar in the stomach, Zahsakar grabbing Dione and flinging her into the air. Dione gets into another kicking position and tries to hit Zahsakar's back, as she punches his arms with her own fists. "Take this, bastard!" Dione yells, as she punches and kicks Zahsakar repeatedly. Zahsakar then roars and flies up into the air, knocking Dione to the ground. "Wh..." Dione trails off, as Zahsakar fires energy blast after energy blast down at them, eradicating the town they were fighting in.

Kiyomasu and Dione do their best to dodge the energy blasts, as Kiyomasu holds his hat with one hand and turns towards Zahsakar with a frown on his face. "You cannot win against me, humans!" Zahsakar roars. "This planet will be ours, just like all the other planets we conquered! Just like the Socqreath's homeworld!" Dione then falters after hearing this, as the two of them are hit by an energy blast, which sends them flying through the air as they crash into a destroyed building, bruised, battered, bleeding and burned.

"Wh...what...?" Dione growls, as Zahsakar flies over them, bearing his metallic wings as they blocked out the sun. "It was one of my favorite accomplishments and granted us plenty of members." Zahsakar says. "I thank Sechsgrad for helping us take the world for our own." "Sechs...grad...?" Dione demands, as Zahsakar prepares to fire at them with his arm cannon. Kiyomasu watched intently as it glowed and pulled in the air, seeming to superheat it into plasma. "My species will be the dominant one, and this world will replace our ship." Zahsakar finishes, as his cannon explodes.

"What?!" Zahsakar roars, as he tries to fire with his other cannon, but the dust cloud from before gets into it as well, destroying it as well. "What is going on?!" Zahsakar roars. "My cane isn't a magic cane." Kiyomasu answers. "It can control light, electricity and in general, energy, but it is also made of nanomachines, which can shapeshift, reproduce and self-destruct on command. And they can control machinery pretty well." Zahsakar roars in fury as he tries to bulrush them, but flies off course, crashing into a building as his essentially jetpack explodes, knocking them both away as Kiyomasu's cane forms back in his hand.

"Is that it...?" Dione asks. "Yes, it hopefully is." Kiyomasu answers. "But...ugh...even without Zahsakar, the Shazarak will fight. And I doubt we even made a dent in their population today--guh!" Kiyomasu holds his chest in pain, and pants. He and Dione then see Demetrius running towards them and holding a bomb. "One monster killing nuke coming right up!" Demetrius shouts. "Now, where's Tall Dark and Metall-y?" "Dead...we hope." Kiyomasu answers. "He was...agh...hard to deal with..."