Clockwork Knights 2: Next Try Revolution.

[Author Roy]

Clockwork Knights: Next Try Revolution-R

Many aeons ago, a band of misfits and an inept goddess were all that kept the world from certain destruction... Battles of a galactic scale were had, and entire worlds were reduced to dust... In the end, the band split, each member going their separate ways to greatness.

With only an inept goddess to rule, the world collapsed, and she too finally left... what remained slowly recovered on its own... over time, their deeds were forgotten... and time continues to flow like a river, or more accurately, a raging waterfall, and history repeats...

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 23, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

"This is the place, huh..." inquired a shadowy figure, whose broad form was warped and twisted by the overhead streetlight that shone over the weeded lot and circus tents before him. To any normal person it would appear as though the figure was speaking to itself, but in reality it was speaking into a small, round, metallic device with several little nobs and slits in it and on it.

"If our intelligence was correct, then this is the place Boss Roy. Though I do warn you to proceed with caution, Vexergo Proximus Ultimatum is known to be quite hostile and quite heavily armed. We're not sure where he got such advanced weaponry from, but it's safe to assume that it isn't from this time period," stated a young woman through the other end of the device. "Oh...and Boss?"

"Yeah...Suzu?" Boss inquired as he adjusted his black beret and nondescript black trench coat and started to head for the tent.

"Just...come back in one piece...alright?" Suzu said, her tone laced with concern and worry.

Boss simply chuckled and shook its head. "I'll be fine, Suzu. You worry about the HQ. If Vexergo survives this encounter, then..." the shadowy figure trailed off with a hint of apprehension and concern as he stopped just short of a door-flap that hung before him.

"Yeah... I know."

"Good." the darkly dressed figure said. He looked up and down the red and white striped tent he was about to enter. The tent definitely looked as though it had seen better days, with several holes punched in and large amounts of standing water in several areas.

"Alright, goodbye...Roy." Suzu said before severing the link and leaving Boss with only the sound of the sharp, crisp breeze whipping through its ears. Boss was silent for a moment as he continued to hold the Comnom to its ear for a moment, but, after a few seconds, simply pocketed the device and pushed up the flap to the circus tent, walking in...

To Be Continued.

[Lathis]

Planet Sphinctus, Desolate Plane; August 23, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S.

A mournful wind blew through the desolate plane, small funnels up dust being lifted up to dance lonely dances across the parched and dead earth.  The second sun had long since set, plunging the sky into a murky purple twilight which could never quite reach true darkness on this most isolated of planets.

This depressing scene might well have lasted for decades, had not something unusual begin to occur.  Very near the heart of absolutely nowhere, the wind began to pick up for no visible reason.  The mild breeze began to coil in upon itself, forming a rapidly spinning vortex. 

Seconds later, the winds howling as if the very planet was in pain, a tiny nimbus of violet light flared to life at the heart of the cyclone.  This newly formed micro star danced merrily to some unheard tune, growing slowly in both size and intensity with each passing moment.  Soon enough, the sphere was the size of a basketball, and arcs of unnatural lightning reached out from it to scorch the already dead landscape black.

Then, just as quickly as it began, in a blinding flash of light and a defeaning crack of thunder . . . it ended.  In the inexplicable phenomenon's wake, nothing remained but a charred crater - a charred crater with a cloaked figure kneeling at its blackened center.

The rather bizarre entrance was ruined, though, when nearly instantly the mysterious figure emptied the contents of their stomach into the crater before being wracked by a painful combination of retching and coughing.

It took at more than five minutes for the stranger to finally regain control of their body, wiping the spittle from their lips with the corner of their frayed and tattered cloak.  It took another agonizing moment for the figure to rise to their feet, shaking their head to try to clear it of the incessant spinning and ringing.

Finally, the cloaked figure sighed . . . as the term 'cloaked' was being used quite loosely.  The blackened cloak was riddled with tears and just barely reached the ground at all, failing to curl up with a life of it's own at all.  The hood was in nearly as bad condition, and the figure could sense that rather than the impenetrable blackness that usually shrouded thier face, they would be lucky if their features were fully shaded at all.

Still, this wasn't a pleasure trip; it most definitely wasn't, considering they had never thought to see this dimension ever again, let alone under these circumstances.  Sighing again, the figure willed themself to teleport to the nearest inhabited city . . .

Only to find themself still standing in the bottom of a vomit painted crater . . .

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," the figure muttered darkly to themself.

The figure wasn't even sure what planet they were on, let alone where the closest city might be . . . if there even was one on this dust ball . . .  So it seemed like a matter of picking a random direction, walking, and praying that they didn't die of dehydration before finding civilization . . .

The figure only hoped that they hadn't miscalculated that badly . . .

If they did, the universe was going to have be a Really Bad Day all too soon.

[Lathis]

Planet Sphinctus, City of Colone; August 24, 4:46 a.m., 3036 A.S.

The cloaked figure continued to trudge forward; every step requiring a Herculean effort just to drag one foot before the other.  They would have collapsed hours ago, were it not for the tantalizing light lights of a city beckoning them across the wastelands.  Now staggering weakly down the gravel laden main street of this spec of a city, the stranger did their best to find a sign for an inn/motel/hostel, anything to let them get off their feet for a few hours . . . But the language seemed alien, unfamiliar, which, considering their pedigree, was quite disconcerting.

Thankfully, the figure’s tenuous luck seemed to hold, as one of the brightly lit neon signs that lined the street was helpful enough to show a depiction of a bed.  Altering their trajectory just enough to allow them to pass through the door, the cloaked figure stumbled up to the counter.  Behind the counter, a short dumpy human male looked up from the small holographic viewer he was watching to grace the stranger with a blasé glance.

“You need a room?” the proprietor asked in a strange variant of an obscure language.  It was actually somewhat disturbing just how long it took to pin down the root language, all things considered.

The figure just nodded, to exhausted to speak.

“You got any money?”

Sighing, the figure knew that, no, they most assuredly didn’t have any money . . .   Maybe . . . Just maybe though . . .

The stranger waved their hand through the air before them.  “You seem pretty hard up.  You can pay in the morning.”

The man’s eyes glazed over for a moment, only for him to shake his head and stare at the stranger askance for a moment.

“. . . Y’know. . . You - you look like you’re in a pretty bad way.  Why don’t you pay in the morning?”

The figure regarded the innkeep for a moment, before shrugging.  ‘Meh, close enough.’  They then nodded and gratefully accepted the keycard from the man and headed towards the elevator at the far side of the room.

“It’s up on the third floor, three doors down on the right.”

Nodding again, the stranger hit the elevator door, and a moment later was on their way to a good nights sleep.

- - -

Planet Sphinctus, Desolate Plane; August 24, 4:46 a.m., 3036 A.S.

The blackened crater, with its now dried contents sat unchanged since hours earlier.  The only difference between then and now was the set of footprints trailing off into the darkness.  Who knew how long this new landmark could last in such a desolate place . . .

And no one ever would.

For the second time that very night, the winds began to pick up.  However, rather than a fancy light show, this time it appeared that the very fabric of reality itself was under assault.  The earth, the very air began to ripple like water on a puddle, the oscillations growing fiercer by the second -

Until reality shattered, leaving a long, jagged scar of abyssal blackness hanging in the air.  A horrible sound erupted from the absence of . . . anything, a maddening, soul wrenching wail that would have shattered the sanity of even the hardiest man.

Oddly enough, had anyone been present, and of sound enough mind to ‘not’ be driven mad by the unholy sound, they would have sworn that they had heard, nearly lost within the endless wailing, the distinct sound of someone saying something that sounded very much like:

“Oh crap. . .”

An instant later, the tear in reality began to close in on itself.  Reality was restored to its former state as the unnatural darkness receded, however, just before it could close completely, the blackness itself actually seemed to lurch forward, as if trying to escape from . . . wherever the portal came from.  Struggle as it might, though, the darkness could not hold back the edges of reality, and inevitably the world healed itself, snapping the portal closed once more . . .

Incidentally snipping off  the narrow psuedopod of  inky blackness that had been straining towards egress.  The piece of living darkness splattered wetly into the very same crater that had been formed earlier.  For several moments, nothing happened . . . 

Then, slowly, the patch of darkness rose up, gradually taking on a more humanoid form as it did.  A torso hunched and bent, arms, long and twist, a head better left undescribed.  And the moment the things legs were formed enough to be able, it began to walk, unerringly following in the footsteps of the one that had passed through earlier.

There was only a single thought which echoed through the twisted creature’s mind, and it sure as heck wasn’t anything about making friends.

[Lathis]

Planet Sphinctus, City of Colone; August 24, 10:19 a.m., 3036 A.S.

A crack of thunder split the air, rattling the windows with its ferocity.  The sudden sound was so loud, it actually shocked the mysterious stranger out of their sleep.  In an instant, the figure rolled out of their bed and all but dove into the tattered remains of their cloak.  A quick scan of the surroundings revealed that it was still dark out, despite the hour.

Moving toward the window, one look through the portal showed a black sky filled with dark, angry clouds.  Every few moments jagged lances of heat lightning lit up sky; the streets, however, were bone dry as the clouds yielded no rain.

There was something in the air, though.  Nothing so mundane as the clouds, smog, or even the static discharge of the lightning . . . no, there was something more ephemeral hanging on the air, something unsettling, like a discordant note in a symphony . . .

Something wicked this way comes . . .  Likely was already here . . .

The figure briefly considered just going back to bed and letting whatever was about to happen, happen - they were still so tired, having only scrounged up a few meager hours of sleep.

Of course, the moment that thought crossed their mind, as if on cue, a scream pierced the darkness outside the window, only lasting for a second before being drowned out by another crash of thunder.

With a weary sigh, the cloaked figure pushed open the window of the apartment and leapt out.  Even the short three story fall was enough to jar their ankles painfully, another testament to how far the had fallen.  Taking a few moments to walk off the sting, they then began to hobble off in the direction of the scream.

It only took ten minutes for them to cover the distance.  It was quite obvious that they had found the source of the disturbance.  The shattered remains of several vehicles, merrily burning in the darkness and the droves of people fleeing for their lives were hard to miss.

Not nearly as hard to miss as the misshapen creature standing at the center of the destruction, though.

The hunched creature exuded menace at very nearly the same rate that black ooze sloughed off from its skin to stain the earth beneath it.  Its overly long arms ended in three razor claws, and though it lacked any obvious eyes, a gaping maw, filled with rows and rows of jagged teeth split its head nearly in half.

The figure had no idea what the creature was . . . But they had a good idea where it might have come from.  Of course, that didn’t help them one wit.  In their current state, they weren’t certain they could defeat a toddler, let alone an one-dimensional abomination.

Unfortunately, flight wasn’t an option, as, within moments of their arrival, the creature ’looked’ up, directly in their direction, then, took an unerring step towards them.  Without eyes or any other sensory organs, it seemed quite likely that this creature was attuned to track them directly somehow . . .

“How could this possibly get any worse?” The cloaked figure muttered to themself. 

Suddenly, for no real reason, the creature suddenly lifted its right arm, holding it out far to its side.  Then, starting from the shoulder, the arm began to swell up obscenely, as if some large lump of . . . something was being forced down its length.  Finally, the thing’s clawed hand seemed to burst apart messily, only to flow back into itself as the object that had been forced down its arm was revealed.

It was a large, squared block of steel, carved with ancient runes and attached to a leather bound haft which looked far too short to properly support such a massive hammer head.  The hammer then suddenly dropped, dangling from a leather thong which hung from the newly reformed hand of the monster.

Mjolinir.

“Oh, Fu-” 

[Lathis]

Planet Sphinctus, City of Colone; August 24, 10:26 a.m., 3036 A.S.

The display window exploded inward, shattered to pieces by the darkly clad body flying through it at ridiculously unsafe speeds.  The unfortunate soul bounced once on the hard tile floor before ricocheting off the hardwood cashier counter and being launched heavily into wide rack of hanging outfits.  Fortunately, getting tangled in the mass of garments managed to ‘slightly’ break their fall, though the wall directly behind the racks didn’t help nearly as much.

The stranger groaned weakly, gingerly trying to unravel themselves from their predicament, wincing with every minute movement.  ‘Definitely a few broken ribs . . . and just from a glancing blow . . .’

Absently, as they lifted another one of the large pieces of cloth off of themself they noted the long length of black fabric that was wrapped around them.  The expanse of black material actually seemed to terminate in a hood as well, what looked like a bleached skull made of some cheap plastic hanging loosely in the hood’s folds.

‘. . . A Halloween shop?  Hmmm . . .’

In a dramatic sweeping motion, the stranger threw off their ragged, tattered cloak and donned the pristine Reaper’s cloak.  It was lighter, and not nearly as homey as their original cloak, but was comfortable and looked a hell of a lot better. 

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” they muttered weakly, a pained grin on their lips.

  Taking a few stumbling steps towards the shattered remains of the store’s display window, the figure glanced out into the street, trying desperately to think of anything they could possibly do . . .

“Hmmm . . .”

Interesting.

- - -

The quaint shop’s door suddenly shattered outward, and the black cloaked figure rolled out into the street, flaring their cloak out dramatically.  Immediately, the horrendous creature, Mjolinir dangling from its blackened wrist, turned to face them, a guttural growl rumbling from deep within its throat.

Nearly as one, the pair charged forward to meet each other.  The shadowy stranger ran forward swiftly, arms quickly pulled to their sides, streamlining nearly their entire body beneath the cloak as they sped across the pavement.   The sludge sloughing creature barreled forward, claws dragging wildly behind it and hammer bouncing heavily across the pavement, sending up explosions of sparks with each bounce.

Then, mere seconds before colliding, the creature swung forward with its wicked claws, almost incidentally dragging the massive hammer to swing around with them.  Simultaneously, the cloaked figure dove frantically to the side, rolling mere inches below the destructive hammer and tearing claws and quickly coming to their feet several yards away.

Without even slowing, the creature dug the talons of its feet deep into the pavement and reversed its direction in direct violation of several laws of physics.  In a flurry of swipes, rakes and swings, it descended on the cloaked figure with all of the fury of a rabid wood chipper.  It was all the stranger could do to stay out of the way of the deadly weapons of the creature. 

As they dodged to the side of a slashing claw, a lamp post behind him was slashed clear through and tumbled to the ground with a clatter.  Ducking under a swing of the other hand reduced the entire face of the building behind him to rubble as Mjolinir’s enchanted head blasted through the feeble concrete like so much paper mache.

Even that near miss was enough to send the cloaked figure flying through the air to tumble to the ground several yards away.  It took them several long seconds to regain their feet -

Far too long in a battle such as this.  The figure barely even had time to bemoan the fact that they were such a weak ass fighter before the creature was on them.  With a massive overhead swing, the beast brought Mjolinir over its head and smashed it straight down onto the cloaked figure with enough power to crater the street for over a dozen yards in every direction.

The amusing little puff of smoke which the unfortunate fool’s body burst into was extremely anticlimactic, considering all the build up.

For a moment, the creature looked around in confusion, before suddenly turning its head to look up and to the side - to stare directly at the darkly cloaked figure standing on the nearby rooftop, a literal armory procured from the convenient gunshop strapped to their back, and one notably large looking rifle aimed right at it.

“Say hello to my little friend, you slimy sunnovabitch!”

And then all it saw was high velocity lead, real up close and personal.

[Lathis]

Planet Sphinctus, City of Colone; August 24, 10:32 a.m., 3036 A.S.

Round after round of  hypersonic depleted uranium ammunition slammed into the abyssal creature, tearing through it and shredding the street behind it to gravel as the cloaked figure squeezed the trigger as hard as they could.  A manic smile spread across their face as they continued to rain down destruction on the beast . . .

Only for their shadowed smile to die a slow death as the fullisade had absolutely no effect on the creature whatsoever.  The beast didn’t even flinch as the hardened rounds slammed into and through its hide.  If anything, it seemed to gaze up at them with what could only be considered a curious expression.

Frowning, the stranger dropped the heavy machine gun and pulled the high powered laser rifle from his back.  It only took a second to warm up, humming merrily as he caught the creature between the crosshairs.

Seconds later, a blinding beam of light bisected the creature, first from rib to rib, then from crotch to crown, then on several more angles, just for good measure . . .

The fancy scars carved into the street behind it were the only evidence of the attack at all.  The creature, once again, hadn’t even bothered to move, just stood there stupidly as the laser beams flashed through it . . . Though, on second thought, was it really stupid to stand there when their weapons were totally useless against it?

Shrugging, they dropped the laser rifle and leaned down to pick up the rocket launcher at their feet.

‘Third times the charm, and all tha-’

The figure’s eyes widened in shock, as the creature suddenly burst into action, sprinting forward with dizzying speed.  Swinging back its hammer trailing arm, it slammed Mjolinir into the building that was acting as their perch with such force, that the structure quaked to its very foundations, then, seconds later began to collapse right out from beneath them!

The figure waved their arms frantically, trying to maintain their rapidly disintegrating balance as the building crumbled beneath their feet, incidentally losing all of the weapons they had just collected.   It was mostly luck that allowed them to retain enough footing to leap from the collapsing building and land roughly in a roll.  The harried fighter darted to their feet as quickly as they could and spun around to glare at the creature, now surrounded by the rubble of an entire building.

Time, they needed time to get away, but without any of their artifacts or books on them, all they had to rely on was their wits and whatever meager skills they could actually use in their condition . . .  Speaking of which-

The figure raised their hand before their mouth and took a deep breath- 

“Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!”

 - And breathed out a disappointingly meager ball of fire which engulfed the creature and most of the building surrounding it in searing flames.  The second the creature was obscured by the flames, the figure turn and began to sprint down the road as quickly as they could.  They only hoped that might by them some-

Behind them, an unearthly sound of howling wind filled the air.  The figure glanced back over their shoulder, only to watch in shock as a tornado tore the ball of flame apart from the inside out.  The fires guttered and died, only to reveal the creature, with Mjolinir spinning madly above its head, a towering wind funnel rising up into the sky above it.

“Well . . . Damn . . .”

And then the chase was on again.

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; Subterranean  Bunker; August 23, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Time had seemed to stand still beneath the surface of Grim City in an underground bunker scarce few, if any, knew of. Of course, simply having knowledge that it existed did not privy one to the contents, which were sealed behind metallic blast doors, on the other side...

-System Scanners Initiated...

Key sigunature detected, now processing...

Identity confirmed...

Systems engaged...

Release Confirmed...

Releasing specimen Beta 2461...

Draining preseveration fluid from the Chrono Tank...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

With a hiss, a jump, and screech a crystal tank, rapidly draining a green, gelatinous fluid, slowly began to rise into a pitch black ceiling, seemingly composed of onyx stone.  As the fluid retreated into a space unknown, the body of a man, who dangled in mid-air by thick, black chords holding to metallic attachment sites on his back, slowly began to stir.  His skin glittered like gold as the fluid that covered his skin gleamed in the florescent light of the room, and his raven hair, slick and limp, clung to the back of his toned neck, shoulders, and back.

He was a slender man, with not one imposing feature about him, and had a face that seemed unnaturally innocent despite of the slight stubble that formed around his square jaw. In short, while not exactly a handsome man, he was mildly attractive at the least.

For a moment his body simply swayed in the cool, subterranean air of the room while his senses, much a like a new born babe, adapted to the new sensory perceptions that seemed to be bombarding his fragmented consciousness. There was a twitch here other there, but the figure primarily hung unmoving...until the need to breathe forced him to fully awaken.

Gasping loudly and raggedly, the figure's milk chocolate coloured eyes revealed themselves to the world, bewildered and wild, as his senses were further crippled by sight causing his mind to swirl in a state of panic.

Initiating mental and sensory stabilization systems

It was the voice of an automaton, to be sure, though the man knew not where it came from and was only vaguely aware of a tingling sensation he felt in his back as a fluid, hidden behind the opaque black tubes, filtered into his body. The fluid worked rapidly to acclimate the man to reality.  After a few minutes the process was complete and the man found himself calmed, albeit likely because of the fluid, but he was content nonetheless. The tubes then disengaged from his back, leaving only the metallic connectors which were firmly attached to his skin, and allowed the man to slump onto the ground on shaking, unstable knees.

"Uh," the man moaned as his attempted to stiffen his legs so as to stand. However, his efforts were cut short when a set of metal needles, connected to a larger processing unit, dropped down abruptly on either side of head and stabbed into his neck before he could do so much as blink. Within seconds his mind was filled with messages, knowledge, and,  most importantly, an identity and a mission.  Unfortunately this stimulatory overload caused the man to collapse abruptly after the needles had disengaged.

However, after a few minutes, the man woke once more, groaning slightly and whining about a headache, before pushing himself to his feet, which were now much more sturdy, and muttering, "Fuck you Cookies. I'm just human."  The man then proceeded toward an expansive, holographic computer system a scooped a white dress shirt, bootcut navy blue and white tinted jeans, a black leather belt, and casual black shoes. He quickly put them on, noting that they seemed to fit his figure rather well, and the proceeded to scoop up a note that laid on the gargantuan keyboard before him.

Dear W-Fox,

As my human clone I expect you to do great things and to finally do what I could not. Find Grand Director Suzumiya and subjugate her!!! Also, if you are reading this note, Yuki should be on her way to assist you right now. I would be there as well, but Master Happi says my last defeat was embarrassing so I'm on punishment...and it sucks so much!!!!

Sincerely,
Hotaru Tomoe (a.k.a-Cookies)

"You...," W-Fox muttered to himself with a deadpan expression on his face, "have got to be kidding me."  With that he abruptly crumpled up the note and tossed it over his shoulder before heading across the metallic floor toward the giant blast doors.

Pressing a large red button off to the side of the doors, Fox smiled as they hissed open and the foul air from the surface filled the sterile bunker. However, his smile soon fell when he saw the visage of one Yuki Nagato, blank faced as usual, staring at him as though to say, "Well come on, I don't have all day."

Fox's brow furrowed, his eyes slanted darkly, and he looked up at the ceiling before bellowing, "DAMN YOU COOKIES!!! I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR CRAZY PLANS!!! I'M JUST HUMAN!!!!"

Meanwhile Yuki simply rolled her eyes and started to head toward the rickety, mining elevator that would lead them to the surface...

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; Just beyond the elevator at on the outskirts of what appears to be a Circus; August 23, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"'Ey, Yuko, Yoko, Yukaki...whatever the hell your name is. Is that a circus tent?" Fox inquired incredulously as he cocked an eyebrow and looked down at the shorter, lavender haired girl at his side.

If Yuki was upset by W-Fox's poor recollective ability and crassness she certainly didn't show it. Her calm demeanor betrayed no emotion as she simply nodded in response and started to stride toward it without so much as even motioning for Fox to follow.

Of course Fox knew, or at least his memory stores did, that he really had no choice other than to follow Yuki, less she detonate the bomb Hotaru had placed in his head as a "Insurance Policy".  Fox's acquiesce at the moment, however, was only attained after he had fainted, bitched a fit, and had to be subdued by Yuki on the elevator in order to keep him from jumping off to his death which was, by that point, kilometers bellow.

Yes, it appeared as though Fox had little choice then to succeed in seducing Suzumiya and destroying Vexergo Proximus Ultimatum if he himself wished to continue living. Of course he wouldn't mind if someone else handled the Vexergo Proximus Ultimatum part...

Meanwhile, as these thoughts continued to filter through his mind, Fox made his way over toward the tent staying in line with his diminutive guide and hoping that, if something were to go down, he wouldn't have to fight. After all, there was nothing special about him, he was just human, and it wasn't as if he had even been outfitted with a weapon (Yuki had suggested Cookies old Comnom, likely being sarcastic, but while Fox had actually considered chucking the thing at a foe he ultimately decided that would simply be stupid), so he was practically a sitting duck.

"Let's just hope that we're going to see a show. After all, I doubt Vexergo or Suzumiya would be in a run down tent such as this. They've got too much class for that...I think..."

[Lathis]

Planet Sphinctus, City of Colone; August 24, 10:52 a.m., 3036 A.S.

Breaths came in ragged gasps as they continued to sprint down the street.  Behind them, the abyssal creature continued its lackadaisical lope, tearing up a ridiculous amount of street considering the lazy pace it appeared to be moving at.  Every other step, the creature's flailing arms brought Mjolinir smashing wildly into the ground, sending explosions of rubble flying into the air without any concern for the destruction it was wreaking.

In every direction they could see, screaming civilians fled for their lives; fleeing into buildings, down alleys, or jumping into vehicles and driving off.  It was bad enough that they couldn't hurt that damn thing, but even if they could fight it, how could they do it with all these people around?  If only there was some kind of . . .

Abandoned construction site?  

'Hmmm, that might just work.'

Dodging quickly to the side, scowling darkly at the telltale sensation of razor claws tearing through the trailing tails of their cloak.  And they'd just got it as well!  

"Let's see how well you dance, ugly!" they taunted before darting forward into the massive skeletal structure of free standing steel girders which rose high into the air.  The figure then leapt up, kicking off one of the girders and triangle jumping up several stories before landing precariously on a beam over ten stories above the ground.  Far below, the creature seemed to stare up at them passively, as if considering its options.  Well, if it was going to give them a breather, who would they be to not take advantage?

Scanning around quickly, they noted several options of their own.  A single leap carried them across the narrow gulf to land next to the massive rivet gun sitting against one of the girders.  Firing it up quickly, they took aim and fired off a series of red hot rivets at the creature below.  As before, most of them just passed through it with no effect, but the few rivets that randomly struck the ground around and beneath its feet actually appeared to pin it tenuously to the ground.  The figure nearly laughed as the creature weakly attempted to lift one of its feet, apparently not sure what was happening.

The laughter died quickly, though, as rather than continue to struggle, the creature just  lifted Mjolinir high above its head-

The stranger had just a fraction of a second, as the hair on the back of their neck began to stand on end, to realize what was about to happen.  The briefest idea of jumping occurred to them, unfortunately that thought process forgot the tiny detail about them being currently perched in the heart of a giant metal structure . . .

Blinding white light filled the sky a fraction of a second before blinding hot agony wracked every cell in their body as hundreds of thousands of volts coursed through their body.  The excruciating pain seemed to last for an eternity, until they were finally allowed to collapse to their knees, a disturbing amount of smoke rising up from their now crispy cloak.

". . . That . . . sucked . . ." was about all their spasming throat could manage.  Really, that one was their own fault; they really should have remembered what Mjolinir could do.  Though, who would have imagined a mindless monster using an artifact to adeptly?

Down on the ground, the creature began to heft Mjolinir again.

'Oh hell no . . . I can't take another shot like that!'  Moving quickly, they pulled a throwing knife from beneath their cloak and threw it quickly.  More through good luck than skill, the blade slashed through the heavy cable holding up hanging stack of girders.  An instant later, several dozen tons of hardened steel plummeted through the air.  The massive girders lanced down, slamming into the creature with enough force to set the whole structure to vibrating.

It took nearly a minute for the figure to finally regain enough control of their body to stand up.  Taking a quick glimpse down, they shuddered at the sight.  The creature was still visible, though it had been crushed to a nearly unrecognizable mass.  The figure nimbly leapt down, a story at a time, to land next to the oversized pile of ruined girders.  Now 'that' had to do it-

A deep, unearthly gurgling rose from the girders, and the figure stared in shock as the creature's head weakly began to lift up from the tangled mess of steel and gore.  

"Still not dead?  What the hell does it take to kill you?" the figure asked rhetorically.  Still, it didn't seem like their tormentor was going anywhere anytime soon, so maybe there was a technique or something they knew that might work . . .

Again, they were forced to watch in shock, as Mjolinir was lifted up once more.  How could this thing still move?  

A crackle of electricity gave the figure just a little more warning this time, and they dove wildly to the side, onto the nice, non conductive concrete floor which had been poured several yards away.  A fraction of a second later, another massive bolt of lightning crashed down into the structure.  Again, the entire structure seemed to light up as lightning arced madly between all of the girders, like a sky scraper high Jacob's Ladder, traveling all the way from the peak down to the very pile of girders which were currently impaled through the creature.

A high pitched squeal which threatened to unravel the sanity of anyone in hearing distance filled the air, going on and on, until finally everything was cast into an eerie silence . . .

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 23, 10:36 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy stared into the ever expanding darkness within the tent as he walked in. There was a steady dripping sound in the distance, which struck Boss as odd, since there couldn't be a leak in a Vexergo's dimensional realm.

"Vexergo. I know you're here," He called out into the abyss. "Show yourself."

There was a distant chuckle, and the black man narrowed his eyes. A spot light flicked on in the center of the darkness, shining down onto a man clad in purple who sat with his arms propped up on something. He wore a black cape with an extended, pointing collar that reminded Boss of vampire cloaks over a purple tuxedo, and topped the suit off with a black helmet, only a round face clear to see through.

Boss Roy instantly reacted, and in one smooth, calculated motion, reached up to his trench coat and pulled out a gun, then aimed it at the figure very carefully. Then, seeing the figure, he blinked.

"W-what?" Boss was audibly surprised. "You, you're not..."

"Forgive me if I am not who you seek," The figure said in a smooth, masculine voice. "But I would have words with you."

"Hmph. Where is he? I have no time for side shows." Boss said with a snort.

"If you mean Vexergo," The man said, waving a hand. Another spotlight shone down on the table that his arms were propped up on, revealing a faceless man in a tuxedo and a feathered hat over his head. A large, purple sword stuck out of his chest, and a crimson liquid was still pouring out of his body and dripping down off the side, where it hit the ground with a splatter. "Then he and I had an unfortunate disagreement that ended in his termination."

Roy stared at the dead form that was lying limp on the table. It was Vexergo's own sword that was so deeply embedded within his heart.

The black man's hand began to twitch as he considered that. If someone could have defeated Vexergo like that... and the wound was fresh, meaning it had not happened more than a minute or two ago. But despite the altercation that must have taken place, the man before him sat with poise, not as if he had just ended a monumental struggle with a powerful fighter.

"I see," Boss said, keeping his aim on the man. "Then perhaps I have time for this little side show."

"Oh, this is no side show, I assure you. Indeed, though it be nothing spectacular as well, as this is only the prologue." The man stood up.

"Your point. Get to it," Boss said with narrowed eyes.

"Quite." The man turned around and flared out his cloak dramatically. "The topic of this discussion is Corruption. This entire world is undeniably, irrevocably corrupt." The man held up his left hand in high above his head, and an image of people familiar to Boss - all of them world leaders of some sort - appeared above him to his left. "On the one side, you have those who would lead the people." He raised his right hand in a similar manner. "On the other side, you have the people themselves." Above the man and to his right appeared an image of a crowd. "The people are selfish creatures. Every thing, every single act that a human being does can be traced back to selfishness."

Boss snorted.

"The meaning of the word altruism must be lost on you, then."

"In that word lies the very heart of my argument." The man said with a chuckle. "Indeed, what is altruism?" He waved his hands and the images above him disappeared. An image of a tidal wave poised to destroy a small village appeared above him instead. "Is altruism a selfless concern for the welfare of others, or is it a selfish need to make oneself feel morally ethical?" He turned around and faced Boss.

"Three years ago, this powerful tsunami crashed into an underdeveloped nation and ground the pathetic straw huts and what little development they had into the mud. Many lives were lost, and the livelihoods of those left to suffer, utterly destroyed. Almost instantly, every single 'civilized' nation on the planet was sending aid in the form of food, money, clothing, and other necessities. Why is that? Did they do it out of a selfless impulse to help others, or to fulfill their own personal needs, to reassure themselves that they were good people?"

He raised a hand in front of himself and clenched it firmly.

"Meanwhile, in their own lands, people suffer. Domestic disputes continue to rise, people are bereft of work, leaving their families to starve. While those who are already high up in the social ladder continue to become more wealthy, those on the bottom suffer evermore, being reduced to petty crimes such as thievery, which more oft than not leads to other lawelessness." He let his hand fall back to his side. "But I do not mean to place the blame on the shoulders of those who live comfortably at the cost of others' well-being. Everyone is guilty. Those at the top, those at the bottom, and everyone in between."

Boss stared at the man in silence. His arm had started to lower, but when the man took a step forward, towards him, it was back up.

"Those at the top are guilty for taking from others the basic needs of life so that they can live in excess. Meanwhile, the middle classes act as if nothing is happening, concerned for only themselves, and fulfilling their own dreams. What happened to that altruism that was so prevalent when foreigners suffered from a terrible natural disaster that they themselves had only heard about, rather than walked through every day?" He took another step forward. "And of course. Those at the bottom, guilty of their petty crimes. Like those at the top, they care not who they walk on in order to get what they want."

Boss snorted.

"Not everyone at 'the bottom' is as callous as that. Many try to work hard and achieve something of a normal life. Surely you cannot call those who work hard for practically nothing and help others to be selfish?"

"Indeed. The people who you speak of are the ones who are unjustly walked on and ground under boot like so much dirt by all who would." He looked away from Boss. "But there's the rub."

Blinking, Boss followed the 'gaze' of his mask to another image, this time, to a Renaissance style oil painting of a man in robes eating a small child, with the word CRONUS etched at the bottom.

"To live is to consume. To consume is to take." He turned and looked at Boss. "Any who live take from others resources necessary for survival. Survival, in itself, is the ultimate selfishness. Those who eat the meat of others, have to kill what they eat in the first place. There is almost nothing naturally occurring in this world that is freely giving. And that which is freely given is not infinite." The darkness in the tent vanished, with small lights appearing all around them. And then Boss saw a model of Grim Planet appearing before him. Near the cloaked man, was a shining ball of flaming plasma, the sun.

"Stars give off light. Plants turn light into life energy. That life energy is then distributed across the entire planet. Either it is taken from the plant itself, or taken from unnecessary excess that the plant makes. Humans have developed a very efficient system for taking life energy, and culturing it into a form suitable for themselves. They have, over the millenia, raised and bred other organisms into something that make suitable sources of life energy for themselves. All in the self-interest of continued survival."

Boss blinked as he realized something.

"If people are selfish, then what about their children?" He asked. "If they are truly selfish, then why do people give food and other resources to their children?"

"That is a good question." The man snapped a finger and the spacial model vanished, replaced by a large line graph above and behind him. The graph had a steady rise from left to right, and on each axis were the words Total Human Population and Time Elapsed. "I mean not to insinuate that humans are the only selfish organism on the planet. Every thing living is selfish. Humans are simply the only ones that fool themselves into believing they are free of selfishness." He gestured the graph above him. "Every living creature has two basic instincts. Preserve Thy Self, and Preserve Thy Species. The need to give one's own offspring food is not the selfishness of an individual. It reaches much further than that." He again turned his head.

"It is the selfishness of the entire species itself, which itself is alive as one."

Boss simply stared at the man in silence for a long moment. Then finally, after a bit, he spoke up.

"What is the ultimate point behind this lecture?" He asked, his arm finally falling down to his side.

"Ah, yes. It is high time that we get to that." The graph behind him disappeared and was replaced once again with the image of the world leaders from before. "Though the people are first guilty of selfishness, the ones who control this society are guilty of it even more. They are the ones with the ability to change how this world is run, and yet they allow it to rot like a long dead carcass, as long as they can further their own political goals. Every political party is guilty of this. If they were not, then the world would have no need for the invention known as war, not now."

Boss shook his head.

"But wars are fought over resources, are they not?"

"In days long past, that was so." The cloaked man shook his head. "Now wars are fought over opinion. Wars are fought over religion. Both ultimately meaningless before the reality that is the suffering of the people. Yet those with power allow these things to continue happening, time and again."

Boss favored the man with a tired look.

"Your speech is long and unendearing. So let me ask this: What do you mean to do about it all?"

"It is quite simple. I will conquer." The man turned and let his cloak flare up behind him in unseen winds. "I will take this world from those who are responsible for its current state, and then see it remade into something far better!"

Boss frowned.

"Do you mean then, to imply that you are capable of running this world?"

"Indeed." His cloak fell back down to the ground and he walked towards the table where Vexergo lay, long dead. He grabbed his sword by the hilt and pulled it free, then swung it, flinging blood and liquid off into the darkness. "One need only the strength of mind and will to govern justly to lead a country. I have both."

"Hmph," Boss narrowed his eyes.

"I do not mean to imply that I am inherently better than others, nor do I ask you to trust me right away." The man sheathed his blade in a scabbard on his waist.

"How do you intend to run this world, then?" The black man asked.

"There is only one fair way to do so. Limit the population of men, and see that all who live are equally well cared for."

"Communism?" Roy asked.

"Perhaps the ultimate form of it. It is true that past experiments with this method have failed, but I believe that it was the people involved, rather than the ideals themselves, who failed."

"That is a... lofty goal," The black man said. "One that could take quite a long time to enact. But why limit the population of men? Why can we not just seek out more resources if the planet fails us?"

"Indeed. Let us seek out more, and more, and more planets to populate, until there are no more left in the universe for us to befoul." The man shook his head. "Life is not something that endures eternal. For eternity, you would have to transcend life itself."

Boss Roy looked down to the ground, frowning.

"Though there may be a way for us to renew resources and continue living on this planet, and the next, and all that follow, I know naught of it. I myself am a mortal man, whose abilities and knowledge are limited by experience. So instead, I focus on the present, and hope that those in the future will be able to come to terms with that situation." He grabbed the edge of his cloak and wrapped it around himself. "I will give you time to consider what I have said tonight, and approach you again on the next new moon. Have your group make your decision by then, whether to move with me as the Clockwork Knights, or stand aside and be caught up in my wake." And then the man span, his body quickly growing thinner and thinner until he vanished.

"Wait!" Boss called out suddenly. "What is your name!?" He asked out. To his surprise, he heard the voice of the man reverberating around him.

"My name is Xergo Proxy Ultimate, but you will call me Zero."

"Zero?" Boss muttered as the darkness around him faded, leaving the darkened interior of the tent, and the table and corpse of Vexergo above it. "As in... nothing?"

He shook his head and turned around, then started walking out of the tent.

"...They're not going to believe this, are they..."

[Lathis]

Planet Sphinctus, City of Colone; August 24, 10:57 a.m., 3036 A.S.

Every movement was agony, but the figure managed to drag themselves to their feet.  The chilling calm was even more nerve wracking than the unnatural sounds which the creature had been making moments ago.  Taking a second to smooth out their smoldering cloak before slowly staggering towards the slagged pile of I-beams pinning the creature to the ground. 

Moving tentatively, they inched forward, preparing for any potential attack . . .

But none was forthcoming.  The creature's skin was dried and cracked, putrid smoke pouring out from every charbroiled crevice as its mouth hung open in a horrific death mask.  Mjolinir was still held in its raised hand . . . but only for a moment, as the heft of the weapon caused the thing's wrist to crumble to dust, dropping the weapon with several loud clangs to the ground.

It . . . it was dead . . .

'Electricity, eh?  That seemed oddly easy.'

Taking a confident step forward, the cloaked figure moved forward and leaned over to pick up Mjolinir-

"Unh!"

-Only to leave it exactly where it lay.  The weapon hadn't moved a millimeter, despite how hard they had lifted . . .

"Oh, right, the 'worthy weilder' thing . . .  Meh, screw it."

Shrugging absently, the figure turned and exited the ruined construction site.  Just outside the fenced off building site, a small crowd had gathered, obviously trying to determine the outcome of the insanity which had just befallen them.  With one look at the limping, smoking figure in their tattered cloak, the looks of abject terror on the crowd's various faces melted away to mere apprehension.  Not feeling overly chatty, the figure just gestured to the nearest person.

"You, is there a starport on this planet?"

The random citizen froze like a deer in headlights, but soon gathered enough senses to reply.  "Y-yeah.  It's in the capital city, Septus.  You can get there by levitrain in a few hours if you need to . . ."

The figure nodded.  ". . . Thank you . . ."  They then turned and began walking . . . only to stop and look back over their shoulder sheepishly.

"Um . . . I don't suppose you can give me directions, can you?"

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 23, 10:37 p.m., 3036 A.S.

W-Fox was caught off guard as Yuki abruptly stopped in mid-stride causing him to nearly pitch himself over her. Thankfully, however, he managed to catch himself in the nick of time, though that wasn't to say that he wasn't upset with the diminutive alien.

"Hey! What's the deal Nagato? You can't just stop in mid-stride like that when you've got someone following you!" the slim man hissed as he shot a glare down at the lavender haired girl's head. His words, as he subconsciously expected, were completely ignored as the slight young woman's eyes widened considerably which did nothing but make Fox more concerned as he followed her gaze toward the tent ahead of them.

'Did something just happen? Why did she just stop like that?' Fox thought to himself with a pensive expression on his rugged face as he subconsciously reached for the Comnom in his jean pocket.

"We're leaving," Yuki stated abruptly as she spun around and looked up at Fox with an expression that allowed for no debate.

Fox in turn simply nodded and moved aside as Yuki started to walk back toward the elevator while Fox followed behind her.

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; Subterranean  Bunker; August 23, 10:45 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Back in the subterranean bunker, Yuki and Fox had positioned themselves around the sole monitor in the cramped monochrome room. The giant holographic monitor fizzed and blinked a bit as Yuki, with lighting strokes, typed in data that W-Fox had long since given up trying to decipher.  It all just looked like some bizarre kind of hieroglyphics to him...all except for one that was.

"HEY! Are those panties?!" the tan skinned man exclaimed incredulously as he pointed out one graphic in particular that was, oddly enough, shaped like a g-string.

Yuki, as usual, simply ignored the man and continued to type at her usual inhuman speed before abruptly pressing the enter key and leaning back in her large, reclining hover chair mechanically.

Within seconds the distortion that was once like snow on a television shifted into a crystal clear picture of a dojo.  However, this was no normal dojo, no, it was anything but normal. Panties and bras of all colours, fabrics, and designs decorated the Japanese paper doors, redwood walls, and even the red and gold pillars that supported the expansive room.

"What. The. F-"

Fox, who could only stare with his mouth agape, was cut off by the familiar face of a young woman with short, shoulder length violet hair, violet eyes, and pale skin.  She was a slight young woman, and rather frail looking by all accounts, but, as with most things, her appearance was deceiving...

Indeed, Hotaru Tomoe, also known as the Giga Cookies of the infamous P.A.N.T.S.U. (Persons Adept at and Notorious for the Theft and Scarcity of Underwear) and S.E.S (Suzumiya Eradication Squad), had long since exceeded simply being capable of annihilating planets with her Silence skills. Now she could annihilate entire galaxies on a whim, and was rumored to have even developed her own dimension where she lorded as a Supreme Overlord. And, on a curious side note, she, for some reason Fox was not privy too from his memory injection, sought to destroy the Notrious Guyin Cogntio as well.

"OH! Hey Yuki! What's up? Did Fox already finish his mission?" Hotaru questioned cutely as she adjusted her ill-fitting white gi and looked over the pair.

"No," Yuki stated in her usual monotone, "Vexergo is dead...but I have recently determined with 99.99999% certainty that their is an individual with power levels at, or exceeding, those of the late Xergo Proxy Ultimate."

If Hotaru was surprised her face far from showed it as she simply nodded as fiddled with the flapping sleeve of her over-sized gi.  "Well I wasn't sure Roy Doll had managed to completely destroy him, though I had hoped, so I can't say that I'm that surprised. I guess we'll just have to change Fox's primary objective from destroying Vexergo to destroying this Xergo Proxy guy," the violet haired girl stated as she looked down at Yuki was a smile.

Yuki simply nodded in understanding.

"Meanwhile, since the situation has changed, I want you to come back," Hotaru continued but was cut off abruptly by Fox's protest.

"WAIT! WHAT?! YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME DO THIS CRAZY QUEST ON MY OWN?!"

Hotaru and Yuki, who spun around the face the bewildered man, gazed upon him with deadpan expressions on their faces and the trio sat in silence for a moment.  Then...

"DUH?!" both girls said with goofy expressions, reminiscent of downs, on their faces conveying their impression that Fox must have had down syndrome to ask such a remedial question.

For his part Fox could only slant his eyes and glare at the pair, trying to maintain his composure less he piss off his creator to the point where she detonated the bomb in his head.

"Anyway, I'm not leaving you completely helpless! Would I ever do such a thing?" Hotaru questioned indignantly as it was now Fox's and Yuki's turn to stare at her incredulously. "Okay," Hotaru said with a slight frown and a roll of her eyes, "Don't answer that." "Anyway, here, have a yo-yo"

Suddenly a red and white yo-yo fazed into existence and landed on Fox's head with a loud "Thunk".

"OW! WHAT THE F-"

Fox's indignant curse was once again cut off when Hotaru continued her speech.

"Alright, now that you've got your yo-yo now you can start on phase one of my plan. I need you to rob a weapons delivery train on Planet Yardang in the Ventrifact Sector. On that train will be a new rifle proto-type. I'm not sure what it does and all that, but it's supposed to be pretty bad ass. Anyway, once you secure that it's yours to use instead of the yo-yo...though I'm sure once you use the yo-yo you'll never want to use anything else. Anyway, report in using my old Comnom after that and I'll tell you where to go from there," the violet eyed girl said with a wink.

Fox simply stared at the young woman blankly as he squeezed the titanium yo-yo in his hand with all his might pretending it was her skull.  'Sometimes, sometimes,' he thought to himself as his body started to glow eerily.

"Good luck Fox! And God's Speed!" Hotaru said with a salute which was countered with a middle finger by Fox who abruptly flashed out of the room...

[Lathis]

Planet Sphinctus, Septus City; Intergalactic Starport; August 24, 4:32 p.m., 3036 A.S.


Taking another short step, the shadowy figure gave an internal cheer of victory as they finally reached the head of the line for the ticket desk.  Their benefactor had been kind enough to take them to Mc Globule's on the way to the Levitrain station, so between that and the meager amount of sleep they had gotten, they were feeling much better now.  So, good mood firmly in place, the figure strode forward to the desk and cheerfully asked-

"So which flight do I need to take to get to Tin City?"

The drab looking woman behind the desk looked at them like they were insane.  "I'm sorry . . . Tin City?  I don't believe I know of that city . . . anywhere in the entire galaxy."

The cloaked stranger returned the cashier's odd look, though it was lost in the shadows of their hood.  "You . . . haven't heard of Tin City?"

The woman shook her head.  "Do you happen to know the planet it is on?  Perhaps its some obscure, tiny little place that isn't on one of our main transit lanes?"

The figure held up a finger . . . only to drop it a moment later.  ". . . Actually I don't know the name of the planet . . .  I'm pretty sure it's a fairly major city, though . . ."  Sudden realization dawned on the stranger " . . . or, at least it was.  Say, I don't suppose you've heard about a group called the Clockwork Knights?  I'm kind of searching for them."

The cashier's eyes widened noticeably.  "You mean that insane gathering of dangerously violent vigilantes that always end up causing waaaay more damage than they do good?"  Her eyes then narrowed suspiciously.  "Why exactly would you be looking for them?"

". . .Um . . . to destroy them for their wicked ways?" they supplied nervously.

"Oh, well why didn't you say so?  They tend to stay out of sight, terrorist scum that they are, but last I heard on the Intergalactic Network, few of them had been spotted in the vicinity of the Grim System."

"Grim . . . System?  Who the heck named a system like that?"

The cashier shot them a knowing look.  "You're standing in the capital city of Septus,   on the planet Sphinctus, you shouldn't exactly be throwing stones here."

The figure considered that for a moment, before shrugging and nodding.  "Fair enough.  So, can I get a ticket there, then?"

The cashier nodded.  "Of course, there's a flight leaving within the hour, and I can get you on it.  Flights there practically never sell out, in fact the fact that its a waypoint to more popular destinations is the only reason we go through that system at all.  So, how will you be paying?"

The cloaked stranger tugged nervously at their collar for a moment, before handing a credit card to the cashier.  "This is my card," they intoned carefully as they subtly waved their hand before them.

They felt absolutely terrible for taking advantage of the kind man that had helped them out like that, but they really couldn't dawdle around in the asshole of the universe.

The cashier took the card and didn't even bother to match the picture to their face . . . which was good, considering their face was still hidden in the shadows of their hood.

"Alright then, Mr Fontaniano, enjoy your flight."

They gladly took the offered ticket and nodded.  "Thank you very much for your help."

"I'm sure nothing will go wrong with my trip."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Dark Alleyway, August 24, 11:02 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy stood alone in a dark alleyway and looked around several times to make sure he was alone before he approached a rather inconspicuously placed garbage can. He kicked it to make sure it was the right one, and seeing that it didn't budge, but instead gave an echoing clang, pulled the top off of the can and jumped inside. Standing up, he set the top down ontop of himself and knelt down inside the dark can. After thirty seconds had past, a red light appeared on a small numberpad, and he began to enter a relatively long string of numbers at an insane rate.

Five minutes of button mashing later, Boss pushed the button that was lit up by the red light, and it turned green. A female voice spoke up almost immediately after.

"Entry code accepted. Welcome back, Boss Roy."

The moment the voice had started, the platform he was on started slowly lowering down further into the ground, and he looked up as it got further. Another platform emerged from the wall, covering the red light up and covering him in darkness. A white light on the bottom of the platform turned on as Boss lowered down further and further into the ground. The low whine of the mechanism powering the elevator echoed throughout the shaft, and he muttered while rubbing his arms for heat.

"Damn narrow elevator," He muttered, hugging himself. It didn't help that the shaft itself wasn't insulated, meaning that the cold air from the night was getting in from above.

Thirty seconds of moving downwards later, the platform stopped, and the walls around him sank down into the ground, revealing a rather high-tech command base all around him. People were working at computers and consoles and meandering about with papers or clipboards in hand.  In the center of the room was a raised platform protected by a metal guard railing, with more computers and a large chair in the center. The moment he stepped out of the shaft, the walls appeared around it once more and rose up into the ceiling.

Sighing, and not ready to talk with the group about what had transpired, Boss made a beeline for his room, walking towards a corridor to his left.

"Ah! Boss!"

Roy cursed and turned around to see a young girl standing up on the platform in the room. Everyone in the room looked over at her, then, following her line of sight, saw him.

"How did it go?"

Boss closed his eyes.

"Vexergo is dead." He said.

The shock in the room was palpable - some mouths gaped, and others simply stared at him with wide eyes. Before celebrations could start, however, he continued.

"Xergo is alive."

With that, he turned and started walking towards the corridor again.

"X-Xergo?" The young girl's eyes widened and she shook her head, taking a step back. "You're lying! There's no way that ancient monster is alive!"

"He killed Vexergo himself," Boss said waving his hand. "Now leave me alone, I need some sleep."

With that, the pink haired girl frowned but nodded, and Boss walked into his room.

The man walked over towards his bed and fell on it.

[Ebony Debony]

Planet Yardang-Ventrifact Sector; Current location: S.T.A.R. Corps. Weapon's Development Train located just above City Omega III; August 24, 9:00 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Sergeant Gertrude Von Bratwurst was anything but a patient woman, and anyone who had prior contact with her knew to stay out of her way when she was bored or perturbed. And such was the reason why she was currently the only one hidden behind a S.T.A.R. Corps. anti-energy field. Everyone else had long since decided, even before the mission began, that they would find cover where ever else they could, including behind large crates, under force-field protected Humvees, or behind turrets. In fact, most of the privates were more frightened of their commanding officer than they were of the potential threat that would, allegedly, be bearing down on them at any minute.

"Tch, come on you bastard. Show your face, I know you want this damn gun. You've always loved shiny things," the brunette sergeant muttered underneath her breath as she gritted down on the smoking cigar between her large, white teeth and thin lips. The sergeant was far from a beauty, but what she didn't have in looks she more than made up for in brawn, confidence, and a copious amount of scary ass scars. One scar in particular,  which ran the length of her entire right side of face down from her forehead, was particularly gruesome. Resembling an acidic burn, the warped and crinkled skin, which was slightly burgundy, would have looked more appropriate on a corpse rather than a living, breathing woman, and her bionic blood red eye, custom made on her request, was even more haunting. Of course no one would ever tell the five foot ten inch woman, who weighed 178 pounds of raw muscle, that she looked like she had been to hell and back and decided to take another round trip. In fact, by all accounts, the sergeant had been to hell and back, but it was something she preferred not to discuss so no one really knew any details, but suffice to say she definitely had it out for a certain violet haired Overlord.

"Dude, Jamal, I know this probably isn't the best time to be chattin' and all, but does the sergeant looked even more pissed than usual?" a private, who donned a full-body suit of black, cybernetic battle armour, questioned as he looked over toward his counterpart who was currently ducked behind a plasma turret with his laser rifle clutched tightly to his chest.

"Shit! How the fuck should I know, Joseph, I try not to even look in the broad's general direction when I don't have to. Her face gives me the creeps, especially when she swoops her bang behind her ears and places that dog food of a right half on display. It's fuckin' disgusting, so, no, I don't know if she looks more pissed than usual," Jamal hissed at his fellow private hidden underneath a silver, magic proof Sedan.  "Hell, I've got a good idea, why don't you ask her if you're so curious?"

Joseph visibly flinched at the suggestion and shook his head vigorously.  "Thanks but no thanks. After she literally shoved Duncan's head up his ass for mentioning part of her scar looked like it was pealing, I think I know a little better than to ask or tell her anything," the private muttered under his breath as he took in the dimly lit layout of the warehouse compartment of the train once again.

S.T.A.R. Corps. Trains were known for being practically impenetrable by any conventional means and even some that were not so conventional, and the cars were also known for being incredibly expansive on the inside spanning the size of a small house easily.  The warehouse car was no exception, with it's high ceiling and wide walls sixty large vehicles could be stored within one easily which was good, because the crew new they would need all of the running, ducking, and hiding space they could get should their target arrive. Though the room offered a Magi-Suppressor system, anyone with a brain knew that such a thing meant little when facing off against someone who could annihilate entire galaxies.

"Bah, I'll just keep praying that she doesn't show up," Private Joseph decided after a moment as he made sure his laser rifle was charged and ready to fire.

Meanwhile, Gertrude was become more furious every second as she piratically glared through the brightly lit, perhaps too brightly lit, stand in the center of the room displaying the proto-type. 'What's taking her so long?!' the sergeant thought to herself as she gritted her teeth once more and fiddled with the trigger of her silver laser cannon.

However, no sooner had she spoken than a bright flash of light enveloped the room blinding everyone present for a moment before they blinked the spots out of their eyes and found a figure standing in the center of the room.

"THERE SHE IS! OPEN FIRE!!!" Gertrude exclaimed, her blue, grey, and black camouflage cap practically falling off her head as she shot up from behind her hiding place and squeezed the trigger on her laser cannon.

------

"This is going to get real old, real quick," Fox muttered to himself as he reappeared, in a flash of light, seemingly in the center of a large warehouse. "And I thought I was supposed to be on a train. Don't tell me I've got to find my own way on. That would be so re-goddamn-dunkulous...though I guess I shouldn't put it past her to do something retarded like that," the slim man  continued to mutter to himself as he prepared to take a step forward to look around.  However, he abruptly stopped when he heard a rather burly, yet slightly feminine voice bellow, "THERE SHE IS! FIRE!!!"

"What the f-!?" Fox exclaimed, once again being cut off, but this time by himself as he narrowly managed to duck under a giant laser beam in time to have it simply fly over his neck, still managing to burn it slightly.  So surprised was the man that he didn't even register the fact that he was running like a bat out of hell from a torrent of laser fire until he almost pitched over a force bubble activator.  Quickly kicking the red button on the side of the thing, Fox managed to summon a force bubble around himself, narrowly deflecting a laser bolt that would have left him with a third eye in the center of his forehead.

"HEY?! WHAT'S THE DEAL?!" the raven haired man snapped irritably as he flicked off his hidden assailants.  Then there was a moment of silence...which was almost immediately followed by a man declaring, "Hey, false alarm guys, it ain't her."

Now Fox was puzzled, but his puzzlement was soon replaced by dread as, out of seemingly nowhere, a burly woman plummeted down from the sky with a thud in front of his bubble and glared at him in disbelief. It also didn't help that the scar on the right side of her face was making his stomach churn.

"Uh...hi?"

"YOU VAGABOND  SON OF A BITCH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ON A S.T.A.R. CORPS. TRAIN?! ISN'T IT BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU ALL GET TO RIDE ON REGULAR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FOR FREE, JERKIN' OFF AND SHITTIN' ALL OVER THE PLACE LIKE IT'S YOUR GODDAMN HOME?! THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY YOU WORTHLESS TOAD, AND NOW, NOW YOUR ASS IS GOING TO JAIL!" Gertrude practically exploded as she finished her diatribe and leveled her cannon at Fox once more. "COME ON! I AIN'T GOT ALL DAY! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THAT BUBBLE!" the burly woman hissed as Fox cocked an eyebrow at her and placed his hands on his hips.

"Look lady, I don't know who you think you're talking to, but-"

Fox didn't even see it coming, and it hit him like bullet train, but he was pretty sure the burly woman's meaty fist smashed into his face. Of course, almost immediately blacking out, he would never be sure as he collapsed in a heap within the bubble.

Meanwhile there was a loud hissing sound heard all around the room, followed by a choir of, "DAYUM!!!! YOU GOT KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT!!!!"

Looking over her handy work, Gertrude smiled a smile that conveyed a sense of stress finally released, and smug satisfaction as she motioned for two privates to come to her side.  As soon as the pair arrived she was just about to tell them to take Fox to the prisoner car, when she got a good look at him for the first time.

"Well I'll be!" she muttered breathlessly, "This bastard looks just like my late husband, Jorge de Jesus!"

"So what do you want us to do with him, Sarge? Take him to the prisoner car?" one of the pair inquired before the burly woman shook head slightly.

"Nah...take this one to my car and have him tied up. I want to interrogate him, and see just how he managed to get on this train," Gertrude said with a mischievous smirk hidden away from the privates behind her.

One thing was sure, Fox, or, ahem, Jorge was in for a little "treat" when he finally awoke from his unscheduled slumber.

Meanwhile, and ironically enough, nobody noticed a shadowy figure appear out of the shadows, by pass all the security sensors in milli-seconds, swipe the rifle proto-type, and disappear once more...

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Roy Doll's Room, August 24, 11:15 p.m., 3036 A.S.

As Roy Doll slept he seemingly failed to notice a figure obscured by the shadows move toward his side swiftly and without a sound. Then, without a word, the figure reached into it's elaborately decorated gold, black, and crimson coat extracting a very bizarre item.  While initially shaped like a tye-dye, palm sized sphere, the item abruptly expanded into the figure's arm taking on the shape of a mysteriously beautiful young woman.  Her azure mane extended slightly past her shoulders in curly rings, her skin shifted from as pale as snow to as dark as the night sky almost every second, and her slight frame shivered in the chill of Boss's room.

"Merry Christmas, Boss. I'm going to loan this to you, so you'd better kill Xergo Proxy for me," the figure whispered in a low, gruff voice as it gently set the bizarre creature onto Boss's bed right beside him. Then, without another word, the figure slid back and faded into the shadows once more, disappearing instantly.

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Rooftop Above Al's Eatery, August 24, 11:18 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Stretching out his legs and languorously laying back onto the smooth, though slightly cracked, surface of the roof, Fox gazed up at the smoggy night sky of Grim City with a slight frown on his face as he removed the hood from over his head.

"Now what could I be forgetting. I know I'm forgetting something…let’s see, deposited bio-weapon hidden within a sphere within a phony rifle proto-type on Boss’s bed. Then I was supposed to…" the slim man muttered to himself, a pensive expression on his face as he stroked the stubble lining his chin. Then it hit him.

"DAMN! I forgot to dispel that Clone Bomb!" Fox exclaimed as he shot up, his eyes wide, before simply shrugging and lying back against the surface of the roof once more. "Meh, he's about to explode in a second in anyway. I guess it sucks for that butch chick and her crew. The whole train probably already blew up..."

-Flashback-

Planet Yardang-Ventrifact Sector; Current location: City Omega III Black-market; August 24, 8:30 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The Omega III Black-market was notorious throughout the galaxy for offering rare, powerful, and sometimes wacky weapons and items at cut throat prices...literally. And this was precisely the reason why Cookies had decided to teleport Fox there first because, contrary to popular belief, Cookies wasn't as cruel as to sacrifice all of his clones like so much garbage.

In a brilliant flash of light Fox appeared, yo-yo in hand and mouth agape, in the center of the market.  "I'm so going to die," he muttered to himself dryly as he immediately took in his surroundings.

All around there were shady and, in some cases, psychopathic looking types, gritty, dirty, and, in Fox's opinion, just inching to blow someone away or cut them into little tiny pieces and sell them as premium beef (which was, ironically, one of the reasons he decided not to look into the butcher shop down the street).  It was also apparent that the false fronts ranging from Chinese restaurants, to Italian restaurants, to Android restaurants, to Wee-Boo Kinkos, and the tiny, wooden, rickety drug store hidden between two other large buildings, were intentionally designed to be just obvious enough.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Fox simply shrugged and pocketed his yo-yo before heading toward the rickety, wooden shop along the slimy, slick street. Ignoring the stares he received as best he could, the raven haired man entered into the shop only to be greeted in mere nanoseconds by a hyper-attentive old man.  He was clearly Chinese,  a stereotypical wise man at that if his long white beard, bushy eyebrows, and black Chinese shirt and kung fu pants were any indication, and seemed to smile knowingly at Fox.

"Good evening sir. Can I interest you in some of my wares?" the diminutive old man  greeted as he waved his arms around to indicate the various medicines, contemporary and ancient alike, staked up on shoddy shelves throughout the decrypt looking room.

Fox simply smirked and shook his head, "Nah, pops, I want your good stuff...if you know what I mean."

The old man's smiling face shifted to a slight frown as he gave Fox a once over.  "You want to see my good stuff you say?" the old man questioned with a cock of his eyebrow, "Now why would you say that? I assure you that-"

The wise man was instantly cut off when Fox extracted a business card from his jean pocket and handed it to the old man, who took it dubiously before looking it over.

"Well I'll be!" the old man exclaimed breathlessly as his eyes scanned the card and widened considerably. "So you're one of Cookies Beta models?" the old man questioned in disbelief as Fox simply shrugged and nodded.  Nodding to himself the old man handed the card back to Fox, who pocketed it once more, and motioned for him to follow.

"You know, Cookies was one of my best customers when she first started out. She used to buy all of my mystical wares, infused theme within herself and all that, until she became so powerful she didn't need them anymore. A pity that, but I suppose once you become an Overlord mystical wares can't do much for you," the old man said, some what somberly, as he walked over to a nearby wall an tipped a glass bottle containing wolfs bane.  As soon as he had done so a false wall dropped out of existence revealing an elegant Chinese tea room.  All around on the walls, on elaborately carved bookshelves, and on tables laid mystical items, various illegal weapons, and ancient tomes.

"Alright, so what will you be bartering with?" the old man questioned as the pair entered into the room and Fox extracted the yo-yo he had received from his shirt pocket.

"Will this do?" he inquired skeptically, blanching slightly in expectation that the old man would almost immediately kick him out or laugh in his face.  However, neither of those things happened as the old man yanked the yo-yo out of his hand like a greedy child grabbing for candy.

"Young man, I don't think you know what you just gave up, but at the very least I'll offer you a fair deal," the old man said with a giddy laugh and a broad grin as he fanned his arm over the room. "Any four items of your choice. Ignore the price tag for you've paid for everything in full with this little trinket."

Fox wasn't sure why, but suddenly he regretted giving up the yo-yo. 'Oh well,' he thought to himself with a shrug of his shoulders as he walked around the room looking over the old man's wares. 'After all it's just a stupid yo-yo,' he rationalized to himself as he looked over a strange, blue bladed sword with a hilt made of silver.

“Ah, Durendal, now that is a magnificent sword.  You could cut through a mountain with that if used properly,” the old man said as Fox hefted the blade into his hands and did a few test swings.

Nodding to himself, Fox sheathed the sword in his belt and continued to walk about the room.  After heading over to the bookshelf a certain item caught his eye.  ““The Complete Idiot’s Guide to All Things Alchemy,” huh?” Fox muttered to himself as he picked up the book and skimmed through it.  Nodding once again, Fox tucked the text under his arm and continued to stroll about until noticing a elegantly crafted red coat with black and gold trim lining the inner most section, the sleeves, and the hood.

“Now what would that be?” Fox inquired as he turned to face the old man, who almost immediately frowned.

“Well I’ll tell you one thing, if you pick that one I’ll actually have to limit your item selection to two things,” the old man stated as Fox considered his words for a moment before unsheathing Durendal and setting it back on the table where he had found it.

“So what exactly does it do gramps?” the slim man inquired as he slipped the coat and moved around in it to make sure it fit well enough.

“That, young one, was a coat I had initially designed for Cookies using some of her power. However, I also added various inscriptions and symbols from the Sworn Book of Honorius and The Greater Key of Solomon to the lining…though after I had done so both books went mysteriously missing. I don’t recall having sold them, so I can only assume someone stole them,” the old man muttered to himself getting lost in thought.

“Ah…so it’s magic is it? Well that works for me,” Fox said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Well thanks gramps, I’ll be seein’ ya’.  I’ve got a train to catch,” the slim young man stated as he prepared to walk out the room.

“Wait!”

“Huh?” Fox questioned, turning around to face the now grinning old man.

“You youngsters are so clueless. Why not use the magic of the cloak to teleport yourself to wherever you need to be!” the old man exclaimed as the raven haired man cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, and how would I do that?  I don’t even know where the train is for that matter,” Fox said, somewhat irritated by the old man’s presumptuousness, as he placed his hands on his hips.

“Bah, just think of your objective or someone you wish to see and the coat will take it from there,” the old man said dismissively as he waved off the slim man’s growing ire.

Fox simply shrugged as he did just that and, within seconds, he disappeared in slight plume of smoke.

-Present-

Planet Yardang-Ventrifact Sector; Current location: S.T.A.R. Corps. Weapon's Development Train located just above City Omega III; August 24, 11:17 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Gertrude Von Bratwurst was as giddy as a fat child in a candy shop as she modeled her rather feminine, pink lingerie in front of the full length mirror in her bathroom.  It wasn’t often that the horribly disfigured Sergeant had time to handle her “needs”, and lord knew she had developed a feminine case of “blue balls”, but all of that was about to change tonight.

“Heh, I guess things are finally starting to look up for me.  He’s not exactly my Jesus, but he’ll do,” the burly woman said to herself as she put on a slight bit of make up and prepared to step out of her dimly lit bathroom into the bedroom.

However, no sooner had she done so then she noticed that the prisoner had started to spasm uncontrollably in his chair.

Gertrude knew, almost instantly, that a man having a spasm for absolutely no reason was not a good sign.  Making a b-line for her military gear and laser rifle, the woman immediately punched a hole into the floor of her car, revealing the twinkling lights of the city bellow.

Knowing she didn’t have much time, the sergeant peeled back the metal with all her strength, turning red in the face during the process, and immediately scooped up her belongings before jumping through.

Now in free fall, Gertrude watched in astonishment as her car exploded in brilliant white light that, within seconds, consumed the whole of the train.

Gritting her teeth as she plummeted, the sergeant cried, “DAMN YOU COOKIES!!!!!”

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Rooftop Above Al's Eatery, August 24, 11:20 p.m., 3036 A.S.

“Achoo!” Fox sneezed violently before wiping his nose and frowning. “Jeez, I hope I’m not getting a cold,” the man muttered to himself as he continued to flip through “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Alchemy” while simultaneously thinking to himself, with an evil smirk, ‘I wonder what Boss is going to do when he wakes up with a naked bio-weapon in his bed.’

Hotaru’s/Cookie’s Dimension; Training Room; August 24, 11:20 p.m., 3036 A.S.

“Achoo!” Hotaru sneezed cutely into her gi sleeve before frowning slightly and muttering darkly, “Gertrude.”  After that she went back to practicing her Wu Shu.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Roy Doll's Room, August 24, 11:15 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy's sleeping body tensed in response to the presence of an intruder, but he did not show any signs of being awake. When the bio-weapon clone or whatever was put onto his bed, he rolled over, placing an arm around the figure by chance, and then opened his mouth in a snort, before continuing to snore again, much louder than before, directly into the face of the blue haired bio-weapon clone.

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Control Room, August 24, 11:16 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The pink haired girl who was sitting in the central command chair frowned and tilted her head. It felt as if something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. 'Hmm... perhaps I should go see if Boss is okay? He seemed pretty beat.' With a shake of her head, she instead turned to look up at the giant display screen at the far side of the room, where it showed a picture of a cloaked figure, a figure wearing a fedora and long coat, and one with a purple tuxedo and vampire cloak and mask. She'd downloaded the data on the encounter with the latter from Boss's PDA.

'Hmmm... Jack MeHoff, Xergo's original form, and this new 'Zero'... what could the connection between all of them be?'

[Lathis]

Deep Space: En Route to the Grim System, Volaris Starcruiser; August 24, 11:57 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The cloaked figure stared vacantly out the window, absently tapping their armrest in a steady rhythm.  They weren't familiar with the form of propulsion being used on this ship, as the unusually coruscating waves of light which flowed past them (looking suspiciously like the pattern of plaid) were like nothing they had seen the last time they had been in this Prime dimension.  Obviously technology had advanced differently since the divergence into the sub dimension.  It did make sense, in a way, as no subdimension could ever hold as many resources or individuals as a Prime dimension, so being out of the loop for several thousand years was bound to lead to unfamiliar new experiences.

It was just that property of the Prime dimension, the inherent reality of it, with all of its varied peoples, technologies and approaches to life, which was exactly what they needed. 

Unfortunately, unlike subdimensions, which were usually run by Overlords and thus easily controlled and united, no single being, or even any group of beings, had ever been able to unite, or even control this prime dimension in any meaningful way.  They were going to need power . . . all of the power in the universe, quite literally . . . but all of that power would be useless if it could not be harnessed, channeled . . . directed.

"Damnit," they muttered under their breath.  If only they had a plan on how to proceed.  Even locating the Clockwork Knights was a shot in the dark, since they usually did more damage than good anyway. 

They did know who they did need to find, unfortunately they knew that that person would not be easy to find . . . or if finding them would even be possible at all.  Still, it was the best chance that they had, so might as well run with it.

Deep Space: En Route to the Grim System, Volaris Starcruiser (Cargo Bay); August 24, 11:59 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Deep within the darkness of the unlit cargo bay, lost in the winding labyrinth of personal belongings, there was no one there to see what was occurring.  It was not like the first time, no wild light show, no rending of reality or howling of the abyss.

Rather, even blacker than the darkest heart of the cargo bay, was a tiny point of abyssal darkness hanging in the air.  From this small hole, this pinprick in the very fabric of reality, something dark and foul seeped out.  One drip at a time, each drip building upon the last and slowly rising up from the puddle of its birth, an abomination was being birthed from the darkness . . .

Reality weeped tears of agony as its hours of labour were only just beginning. 

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Roy Doll's Room, August 25, 11:15 a.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy woke up with a yawn and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. His other arm was wrapped around something soft and warm, telling him that his lieutenant had probably crawled into his bed again for some reason. It was with a bit of annoyance that the man opened his eyes, expecting to see the pink haired girl, but what he saw as completely different.

Instead, it was a blue haired girl... with some kind of weird skin problem.

'Dang,' He thought. 'Did I wake up and get drunk or something?' He shook his head. 'No hangover, so probably not...' He sighed and sat up, then looked down and noticed he was still dressed for work. With a sigh, the man adjusted his long coat and grabbed some sunglasses on the nearby stand, then put them on, grabbed a small rubber horn from inside the stand.

"Here goes," He muttered, pointing the thing away from himself at the blue haired girl.

When Boss squeezed the horn, almost immediately, an incredibly powerful wind began to blow from it, accompanied by the sound of three million foghorns. The bed itself was lifted up into the air by the wind and sound, and the blue haired girl and his blankets were easily blown off, hitting the wall with a small amount of force before falling down to the ground.

"Hopefully she wakes up with that," He said, holding the horn down.

[Lathis]

Upper Atmosphere of Planet Grim; August 25 11:15 a.m., 3036 A.S.

Though it was nearly a weekly occurrence, the arrival of the Starcruiser Volaris was always a majestic sight.  The massive, gleaming white hull of the craft began to tilt upwards as it engaged its automated landing sequence.  Hundreds of miles below, on the surface, there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about the approach to the Space Controllers in the spaceport.  The ship was right on time, and its descent was just as graceful as always . . .

It was all perfectly mundane . . . except that they couldn't raise the ship's captain, who always had a habit of calling in with a new joke he'd heard.

And with each passing second this predicament grew more worrisome, as they couldn't engage the surface to ship landing beams without authorization from the captain of the Volaris.   Warning signals began to light up around the control tower as the ship failed to engage its breaking engines, leaving it descending into the upper atmosphere at a recklessly dangerous speed.  Moments later, emergency crafts began to take off from the surface, trying to catch the massive ship with energy nets to try to stop its fall.  However, not only had the ship not begun to break, something had gone wrong with its automated systems, and its engines were still firing, driving it down to the surface.

Panic began to spread through the entire spaceport as the massive bulk of the Volaris broke through the energy web of the emergency vehicles as if it weren't even there.  It wasn't until one of the controllers calculated the trajectory of the runaway vehicle that a semblance of calm was able to be restored to the throng of people.  Even as the hull of the ship began to burst into flame as it plunged through the atmosphere, the controller explained that, due to the firing of the engines, the Volaris would overshoot not only the spaceport, but the entire city as well.  The destruction would still be catastrophic, but the loss of life would only be limited to those poor bastards riding the doomed ship . . .

And so, it was with a resigned sense of helplessness that everyone in first the starport, then the entire city, watched the massive fireball roll through the sky, before arcing gracefully to the distant ground outside the city.  When it landed, the shockwave could be felt for thousands of yards, the explosion could be seen for miles, and windows exploded throughout half of the city.

No one present could even begin to imagine the cause of this calamitous disaster . . . all they could do was wonder as emergency vehicles sped out to secure the crash site.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Boss Roy's Room, August 25, 11:17 a.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy watched as the girl started to move beneath his covers, but just as she did so, he blinked, looking up.

'Did I just hear --'

And then the room started shaking, at first, a little, and then, a lot, and Boss struggled to stay standing.

"Wh-aat the hell's goin on?!" He demanded of no one, before grabbing a small cube on the bedstand and floating up into the air. The rumbling finished almost as soon as it had started, though, and Boss dropped the cube back to where it was, then looked around. He shook his head and started running towards the door from his room, before glancing over at the pile of blankets by his wall. "I'll deal with her later," He muttered, plowing through the quickly opened door and into the hall, then starting towards the command center. When he reached it, he saw the pink haired girl and a few others scrambling to the computers, all wearing pajamas or some such. "Hey, I thought you said we were safe from Grimquakes!" He shouted at the pink haired girl.

"We are!" She yelled back, just as irritably. "I don't know what the hell that was, but it hit worse than a quake!" She said.

He looked up at the large display panel as imagery rapidly flew by on it. Finally, a picture of a very smokey and dusty crater showed up on it, and Boss blinked.

"Was it a meteor?" He muttered.

"Seems like it was a starcruiser," a young pajama'd worker said. "We're not quite sure why though."

"Huh," Boss shook his head and turned around. "Well, damn. I thought we were under attack or something..."

"You thought it was a grimquake," the pink haired girl spat out irritably.

"S, shut up," He said. "I'm going to go to the surface, see what's going on."

"I'm going with--"

"No, you stay here, hold down the fort," He said, walking away.

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Dirty Alleyway, August 25, 11:18 a.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy rose up out of the trash can slowly, rising to stand on the top of it's walls. He hopped down from the trash can and replaced the top, then started walking out of the alleyway and into the street. People were all recovering from the powerful shock wave in various ways, and a glance around told Boss that the every window in the city must have shattered from the impressive force.

'Huh. How the hell did this happen?' He thought, turning to face the plume of smoke and dust that was rising in the distance. It wasn't very far actually, just outside the city from where he was. With a frown, he started walking towards it.

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Boss Roy's Room, August 25, 11:19 a.m., 3036 A.S.

Stirring from underneath Boss's Roy's covers, the young woman, who now had a splitting headache, slowly and with trepidation removed the fabric obscuring her vision. Greeted by the sight of any empty room she relaxed slightly and raised a hand to her aching head and winced and the pounding pain and ringing in her ears.

"Uh, it feels like my head was run over by a semi-truck," the young woman moaned slightly as she tried to still her blurred vision and nauseous stomach. However, her attempts to quell her stomach's gurgling met with defeat as she suddenly retched and gagged up what appeared to be a small earplug headphone.

Coughing and bewildered the young woman looked over the device dubiously for a moment before hesitantly placing it  near her ear and waiting to see if she could her anything. This, however, proved to be a mistake as the device shot out of her fingers and jammed itself in her ear causing her to howl in agony for the briefest of moments before her jaw locked up and her eyes bulged out of her head.

The effect was instantaneous as memories and emotions flooded the young woman's head, and then one name.

"Cookies!" the young woman gasped aloud as the face of the infamous Clockwork Knight filled her vision.  Meanwhile her skin had started to take on a normal hue, a slight tanned colour, and her headache calmed to an unnoticeable level.

"Ugh, what are you doing in my head Cookies!" the young woman snapped angrily as the vision of the male Cookies dissipated into black before a vision reformed, like particles of sand swirling together, into the visage of Hotaru Tomoe, who was smiling wickedly.

"Ah! Good morning Mahaloli! How did you enjoy your sleep?" Hotaru intoned as she continued to smile maliciously despite the obvious ire she was earning from the blue haired young woman.

"What the hell do you want Cookies! And get the hell out of my head!" Mahaloli snapped irately as the cackling of Hotaru's maniacal laughter filled her head causing a resurgence of her headache.

"That's not likely to happen any time soon, my dear ex-general.  After all, you still need to repay me for sealing in that sub-space bubble and saving your life. S.T.A.R. Corps isn't a charity you know," the violet haired girl said with a malicious smile forming on her lips as Mahaloli's mouth dropped in astonishment.

"YOU'RE THE PRESIDENT OF S.T.A.R. CORPS?!"

"The one and only!" Hotaru declared with a wink as azure haired woman shook her head in disbelief.

"So I hired YOU to protect me from Suzumiya?! You're the reason she wanted to terminate my existence!!!!"

"Pity that, 'eh? But there's no use crying over split milk, now is there?" Hotaru said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Anyway, enough of this idle chit-chat, I have a proposition for you," Hotaru continued before she was abruptly cut off.

"No...in fact, hell no! I don't care if this ear piece in my head is a mind detonating bomb! YOU CAN BLOW ME TO HELL FOR ALL I CARE, YOU VINDICTIVE BITCH!" Mahaloli snapped irately as Hotaru recoiled slightly in surprise.

"Well there goes one way of coercion," Hotaru grumbled to herself as she tossed the remote detonator over her shoulder and shrugged in indifference. "Well how about this," the violet haired girl continued, "I'll name you Vice-President of S.T.A.R. Corps if you help me with this task."

"...."

"..."

"...seriously?"

Hotaru grinned widely as she nodded in affirmation. "That's right, you scratch my back, and I scratch yours. You get the better part of a multi-gagilion dollar weapons development company with it's own corporate military, and in return all I ask is that you insert a certain device into my clone and help him complete his objectives. Of course your appointment to Vice-President will be immediate, so you'll have those resources to aid you as well."

Mahaloli nodded in understanding before her brow furrowed slightly and a pensive expression found it's way onto her face. "Hey, wait, why don't you just do all of this yourself?" the slight young woman inquired as Hotaru frowned a bit and growled.

"I have to lay low for awhile. The Transdeminsional Counsel of Overlords is totally on my ass about siding with Xergo Proxy Ultimate the last time. Something about disrupting the universal balance of the prime dimension," Hotaru said, waving it off dismissively. "Anyway, I'm trying to clear my name, so I think taking out this new "Zero" guy should do it. However, since I can't do it myself I made a clone to do it for me. He's a failed prototype in that he's only human, but he more or less proved himself when he retrieved you from one of my trains...though the fact that he blew up a 3,000,000,000 train is a bit upsetting. Anyway, with your assistance and the resources at S.T.A.R. Corps. at your disposal I don't think this should be too big a problem." Hotaru said as Mahaloli simply nodded.

"Alright then, I'll let you get to work. Yuki should arrive at the old warehouse within the hour so make sure to get there in order to retrieve the necessary device," Hotaru said with a slight salute before disappearing from the azure haired girl's field of vision.

Taking a moment to acclimate herself to normal sight, Mahaloli looked around the room she found herself in before a violent tremor shook the whole of the room.  "What the heck was that?!" she gasped as she shot to her feet and, for the first time, noticed she was completely naked. Controlling her natural urge to shriek, Mahaloli quickly ran over to a nearby wardrobe and grabbed at a random a few articles of clothing.

It wasn't until she put them on that she noticed something fairly familiar about the selections she had made.  "Holy shit...is this Roy Doll's robe? Are these his boxers?! AND ARE THESE HIS PINK BUNNY SOCKS WITH THE PUFFY COTTON BALL TAILS ON THE ANKLES?!" she exclaimed in horror and retched slightly at the thought of wearing anything that had been on Roy Doll prior to it touching her skin. "I guess beggars can't be choosers," the azure haired girl muttered to herself as she calmed herself and made her way toward the door before stealthy making her way out of the room.  Making sure to duck and dodge so as to avoid being found out by the numerous people located in what appeared to be a central control center, Mahaloli quickly made her way over to what appeared to be a nearby elevator which she subsequently slid into and hit the up button on.

"Hopefully no one saw me," she said to herself as she tried to keep her arms from connecting with the wall of the impossibly small elevator.

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Subterranean Lair, August 25, 11:15 a.m., 3036 A.S.

"Okay, so if I finish connecting this to this then that should activate this," Fox muttered to himself, he brow pouring with sweat and his brows furrowed in deep concentration. "Alright, that should do it!" he announced triumphantly as the sound of high-tech machinery roaring to life echoed throughout the small room and Fox raised a cybernetic arm to his field of vision before squeezing it with a sense of smug satisfaction.

"HA! EAT YOUR HEART OUT GALLY!" Fox bellowed as he looked over his new cybernetic body proudly. "Heh, and to think that it only took one sleepless night and a magic coat to make this!" the slim man said as he tried to fight the nigh irresistible urge to let his eyes finally close.  However, despite the fact that he was dead tired, he couldn't be prouder of his cybernetic body composed of some of universes most resistant alloys and steels as well as fragments of the magic coat he had briefly worn. It also didn't hurt that his new burly body was probably a lot more suitable for battling interdeminsional badasses than was his old, regular human body.

Taking a moment to ensure that all of his systems were operational, Fox then slipped on one of Cookies' old costumes, which consisted of his old black trench coat, a black, gold, and white Venetian mask and pair of red silk boxers, before heading out the blast doors and toward the elevator once more.  However, before he even had a chance to hit the up button and violent earthquake shook the elevator violently causing Fox to brace himself against the rusted railing.

"What the hell was that?!" the cyborg exclaimed, clearly bewildered, as he righted himself and hit the up button. "Whatever it was, it can't be good. I'd better check it out. Zero might be behind it, and if that's the case Cookies is going to want me to handle it...or at least attempt to."

With that, Fox waited for the elevator to reach the surface before looking around and trying to locate the cause of the disturbance. He then located a plume of smoke not too far off in the distance.

"Well that doesn't look suspicious," Fox said to himself sarcastically, rolling his eyes, as he started to sprint toward the smoke at an inhuman speed.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; 21 km North East of Grim City, Crash Site of the S.S. Volaris August 25, 11:39 a.m., 3036 A.S.

Jim and his partner Terry worked quickly.  Even as the massive Extinguisher Units floating above them worked frantically to put out the raging inferno tearing through the shattered wreckage of the mammoth ship, they moved forward in their powered armor suits moving the heavy slabs of metal aside in search of survivors.  The odds of actually finding survivors from such a crash were minuscule at best, but they had to try.  They also had to do their best to clear a passage for the demolitions expert, as there was still a threat of the the anti matter core going critical, which would make the orbital crash of the ship itself look like a firecracker in comparison.

With all this in mind, they were caught completely off guard when they tossed aside another piece of shattered bulkhead, only to find a cloaked figure laying on the ground.  Despite the worrying pool of blood surrounding them, the figure wasn't a burnt cinder or a bloody splotch . . . which meant they could actually be alive!

Jim rushed forward and carefully checked the figure's vital signs - only to gasp in shock when he realized that not only was the figure alive, they were actually clinging to consciousness!

"Are you alright?"  he asked as he deployed a hover stretcher to move them.

The hooded stranger coughed, spitting up a small amount of blood, then shook their head weakly.  

Moving gently, Jim moved the figure onto the stretcher and initiated the life support systems.  It was a miracle that this person was still alive . . . or was it?

"Do you know what happened on the Volaris?" Jim asked the stranger.  Whoever this person was, they might know what caused this tragedy, or perhaps if there were any other survivors-

"D-dead . . . everyone - dead . . ." the stranger sputtered.

Obviously they were going into shock, unable to cope with what had happened.  "Don't worry, we're still looking for survivors.  There may yet be others-"

"No . . ." gasped the figure ". . . all dead . . . dead before the crash . . ."

"What!?" Jim shouted in shock.  What the hell was this person saying?  Had there been some kind of plague, or-

". . . wouldn't . . . it wouldn't die.  Couldn't kill it . . . nothing worked . . . it - it killed everyone . . . one by one."

Jim's eyes widened as he listened.  It sounded like the plot of a bad horror movie.  Was this person just insane, or could they actually be telling the truth.  "What was it?  What killed everyone?"

"N-no word for it . . . Abomination . . . tricked it into the antimatter core . . . de-destabilized systems - almost couldn't deactivate the core before the cra. . ."

The rest of the figure's explanation was lost as they finally slipped into unconsciousness.

Jim could only stare at the stranger, incomprehension plain on his face.  Was there any truth in that, or was it the raving of a depraved soul?  Either way, they would need to get them to a hospital and stabilize them before they could get any further answers.  Still, there was one easy fact to check.  If the antimatter core was inactive, then the threat of an explosion would be nullified and they could proceed with their efforts more safely . . .

Turning around, he waved to Terry, who was just on his way back, an ambulance following him.  "Terry, get this person to Mercy Hospital.  Tell the cops to place a heavy guard on them and make certain that they keep an eye on this person until they wake up.  If even one thing they just said is true, then there is something very wrong going on."

Not sure what to make of his partner's rambling, Terry nodded.

Within minutes, the ambulance was floating rapidly towards the city.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; 21 km North East of Grim City, Crash Site of the S.S. Volaris August 25, 11:40 a.m., 3036 A.S.

When Boss had first showed up, the crash site was cordoned off as worker bots and paramedics attempted to dig through the rubble in what was likely to be a fruitless search for survivors. There was a small crowd gathered around at the edge of the crash site, who were standing around, taking pictures and recording it like it were some kind of circus spectacle.

Boss frowned and shook his head. 'They don't even have a clue about the possible AM-Core failure?' he thought with a shake of his head. He, being who he was, would be able to escape just fine, but for the rest of the people there, it would be over in a blink if that went off.

He reached up to a large earphone that he was wearing and pushed a button on it. Seconds later, he heard the voice of his lieutenant.

"Sup, 'Boss?" the girl asked.

"Did you find out who it was?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh, the S.S. Volaris August, under Captain-"

"No, I mean, was there anyone suspicious on board?" He asked. "Did it come from somewhere suspect?"

"Hmm... no, sir, not anything out of the ordinary. Just the usual high class bunch... wait a second." There was a brief pause before she continued. "It seems that it came in from planet Sphinctus, Septus city in particular."

Boss blinked.

"You mean the rotting asshole of the universe?" He muttered.

"Yep."

"Hm. Well, if you find out anything else," He started, reaching up to his earphone.

"Actually, Boss. I couldn't help but notice a blue haired girl sneaking out of your room in your clothes," She said in a scathing tone.

"What? Oh yeah, her. Yeah, no clue who she is. She just appeared in my room, like you sometimes do when I'm asleep. I meant to have you guys interrogate her or something, but..."

"What? You mean you didn't..." The girl was silent for a moment, before speaking up. "Well, then it's a good thing I sent that probe after her..."

"Good thinking," He said. "Anyway, I'll-" He stopped speaking as the paramedics quickly started carrying a cloaked man from the remains on a hover-stretcher, and into an ambulance that had been waiting. Boss simply stared at the ambulance for a moment until it started floating away.

"Boss? Boss!"

He jerked in surprise, then focused.

"Suzu," He started, "I need you to find out who it is that's being admitted to the hospital from the crash. Something tells me that he's the key in all of this."

"Right..." she said. "Oh, and boss. What are you going to do about Zero?" She asked.

"Not sure," He said simply. "If he truly is the Xergy Proxo Ultimatis from before-"

"Xergo Proxy Ultimate, sir," She corrected.

"Right, right. Whatever," He said, shoving a hand into a pocket on his long coat and looking around. "Anyway, if he's that guy, then... something very bad is happening." He said.

"Something very bad?" She asked.

"Yes. Now, get on that hospital thing, stat." He reached up and hung up his phone and started walking back towards the city in the direction the ambulance had gone.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Mercy Hospital, High Security Ward; August 25, 4:58 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Lieutenant Davis looked up sharply when Doctor Laverne exited the patient's room.  The attractive doctor closed the door behind her, still staring at the chart in her hand with a puzzled expression on her face.  Feeling like chatting her up a bit, as well as doing his job, he quickly sidled up next to her and made an interrogative grunt.

"Is there anything you can tell us about the patient yet, Doctor?"

The doctor looked up suddenly, her brunette hair bouncing alluringly, as if she hadn't even noticed his presence.  Taking a moment to compose herself, she quickly shook her head.  "Um, no, I'm afraid not, Lieutenant.  The patient still hasn't woken up, so we haven't been able to ask any questions.  Aside from that, they didn't have any I.D., and we weren't able to find any matches with finger prints, or DNA.  The last is especially concerning since the advent of galactic wide DNA scanning for just this kind of situation going several centuries back."

Davis scratched his head at that.  "No DNA matches?  Only pre-warp and protected planets are exempt from DNA scans, and since no one can land on, or leave those planets, at all, it's pretty damn unlikely that the patient falls into either of those categories.  Hell, we even have DNA samples for all the Clock Work Knights going back a thousand years, what with all the insane fights they're always getting into."

Doctor Laverne nodded, still studying her chart.  "It is troubling.  But that's not even the half of it.  First off, their injuries are healing at a phenomenal rate.  Most people with their injuries would be in traction for months, but our patient could be up and about in weeks . . .  More disturbing, though, is the nature of their injuries."

"The nature of their injuries?  Umm . . . they were in a spaceship as it crashed into the planet, what kind of injuries were you expecting?"

The Doctor finally looked at him, unfortunately only to shoot him a sharp glance.  "That's just it.  In the 0.0000000001% of cases where someone has actually survived an orbital crash of this nature, the injuries were . . . extensive.  With our patient here . . . their injuries are more consistent with combat - prolonged combat.  It looks more like our patient was fighting for their lives for the past several hours, as opposed to crashing to the planet in a flaming death trap."

Davis tapped his chin in interest.  "Hmmm . . . that . . . that actually corresponds to what the paramedic that found the survivor said.  Man, I can't wait until they wake up, this is gonna be one helluva story!"

Doctor Laverne glared at him before turning away.  "There will be no interrogations until I am satisfied that the patient is completely stabilized, Lieutenant, so I would appreciate it if you would keep your enthusiasm in check."  And with that said, she walked tersely down the hall.

Davis let out a quiet curse as he moved back to his seat beside the heavily sealed room which contained the patient.

That didn't go well at all.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City; Outside Mercy Hospital; August 25, 5:15 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy sighed and sipped from his Latte again.

A moment later the earphone on his head buzzed and he reached up to push a button.

"What've you got?" He asked.

"Nothing," The voice of a young girl said. "Nothing at all."

Boss blinked.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. No records, no DNA matches, no prints, no anything. They're not exactly sure what's going on either. According to the reports, he seems to have been fighting something as the ship went down. Indeed, his injuries are apparently more from that than the actual crash itself."

Boss narrowed his eyes. Someone who was fighting aboard the ship? What exactly would he have been fighting?

Was it still around?

"There's nothing to do until he wakes up, boss," the voice said. Boss simply nodded. "Do you have any idea of what's going on?"

"This and Zero at the same time..." Boss simply shook his head. "It has a familiar feeling to it, this stuff happening all at once. But we'll have to gather more information on this guy before we can decide if there's a threat about." He pushed the button again and slurped more from his latte, then sighed.

Grim Planet; Greater Solem Metropolis; Auster District, Warlord Tower; August 25, 5:10 p.m., 3036 A.S.

At the top of a rather ridiculously tall tower, a woman awoke, and found herself looking straight up into the dark green clouds. Rain poured freely from them, leaving her in cold, wet, clothing.

She sat up and blinked, looking around, before frowning.

'Where... where am I?' She looked around, but was unable to make any sense of where she was. 'Why am I here?' She thought, before frowning as she realized something else...

'Who am I?' The woman shook her head, frowning. It was a strange sounding question, after all... but the truth was, she did not know the answer to it.

There was a flash of light, and thunder sounded behind her. She turned to look at it and blinked when she saw a note on the ground, along with a picture. The note was scrawled in some thick, red liquid that seemed to resist the rain pouring down into it by staying legible. Blinking several times, she picked up the picture, as well as the note, and frowned...

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Mercy Hospital, High Security Ward; August 25, 6:31 p.m., 3036 A.S.

With a weak groan, the figure's eyes flickered open - only to squeeze shut a moment later as even the dim light of the room stabbed into their eyes like daggers.  The pounding in their head was nearly unbearable and every inch of their body seemed to be screaming at them all at once.

It took several long minutes before they were able to quell the pain of their body enough to open their eyes once again. 

"Another unfamiliar ceiling . . ." 

It seemed like forever since they had seen anything familiar.  Everything in this dimension was so foreign now, nothing felt right, nothing reacted right.  Even their own body felt like little more than a dead weight since the moment they had returned to this damn dimension. 

Still, the sterile smell and steady beeping surrounding them gave them a good clue as to where they were.  Though the machines were unfamiliar, all things considered, it seemed a certainty that they were in a hospital . . .  And considering the nature of their appearance on this planet, it was also almost certain that there were going to be people that wanted to ask them some very pointed questions.

"Bloody hell . . . how did I get myself into this crap?"

They didn't have time to answer questions, be it to police, military or government lackeys.  They had things that needed to be done . . . and no idea how long they actually had to accomplish their tasks.  If only they had an idea where to start . . .

Though it was agonizing, the figure slowly crawled out of the bed.  The black, tattered remains of the halloween costume they had found on Sphinctus was casually draped over the back of a nearby chair, and they quickly moved and donned it once more.  They actually gave a quiet sigh of relief as they pulled up the hood to cover their face, as if the shadows themselves were soothing them.

"Now . . . how the hell do i get outta here?" they muttered to themself.  Fighting their way out was out of the question.  Stealth was possible, but getting out of the room in the first place would be the big problem.

"Hmmm . . . maybe, just maybe . . ."

Closing their eyes tightly, they concentrated all of their will inward and-

Grim Planet; Mercy Hospital, Rooftop; August 25, 6:52 p.m., 3036 A.S.

- felt the blessed sensation of a gentle breeze caressing their face.

Startled, the figure opened their eyes, actually surprised it had worked. 

A second later, they collapsed to their knees and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Shit, and after such a short distance too?"

In even more pain now than before, the figure staggered to their feet and began to walk towards the ledge of the building . . . suddenly wondering how the hell they were gonna get down now.

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; 21 km North East of Grim City, Crash Site of the S.S. Volaris August 25, 11:55 a.m., 3036 A.S.

"Damn...what happened here?" Fox muttered to himself with a thoughtful expression on his face as he strolled through the massive mounds of flaming debris of what once used to be a ship. "If my memory database serves me correctly, there's no way in hell this thing should have crashed. After that one time Cookies hijacked a commercial ship in order to crash it into Roy Doll's room for eating her, ironically enough, cookies they installed so many safety protocols that this ship should have at least landed in relatively one piece," the trench coat wearing cyborg continued to mutter to himself as he scooped up a piece of smoldering debris and looked it over.

"I doubt that I'll find any clues here," the man said in resignation as he threw the piece of debris over his shoulder and shrugged.  "Bah, whatever happened here is none of my concern anyway...unless Zero was somehow involved," the young man said with a frown before hearing the sound of emergency crews drawing near.  "Well, looks like I over stayed my welcome," Fox said before leaping high into the air and activating his internal teleport system.

Grim Planet; 21 km North East of Grim City, Old Warehouse August 25, 12:30 a.m., 3036 A.S.

"Damn, when was the last time someone cleaned this place?" Mahaloli muttered to herself as she stepped into the pitch black warehouse and wrinkled up her nose at the smell of rotted wood and rancid sewer water. Quickly raising a over sized sleeve to her nose, the young woman proceeded to stroll across the dirt floor toward the center of the room which was poorly lit by the sunlight streaming through the doorway

"Alright, Yuki, I'm here! Give me this damn device so that I can get going!" the azure haired woman bellowed, her voice echoing throughout the seemingly empty space.  Then, without even the slightest hint of a warning, Mahaloli felt something barely miss grazing her cheek as it whistled past her ear in the blink of an eye. Seconds later she heard a loud sputtering sound and spun around to see a sputtering reconnaissance droid plummeting out of the sky and slamming into the ground, exploding into dozens of pieces.

"You were followed...not good," Yuki's disembodied voice declared in her usual monotone as Mahaloli glared at the broken piece of equipment with extreme disdain.

"Damn, if someone sent one of those I'm sure someone of something with guns is not far behind," the azure haired girl muttered to herself through gritted teeth before feeling a slight tap on her shoulder.  Jumping slightly, Mahaloli turned around once more only to come face to face with Yuki Nagato, the alien's face just as blank as usual.

"Here," Yuki stated unceremoniously as she gripped Mahaloli's arm, opened up her palm, dropped a small spherical device into device into, and close her palm.  "You are to have W-Fox ingest this, assuming he has converted his organic body into a cybernetic one, thereby allowing Mistress Hotaru to gain remote access," the lavender haired girl stated as Mahaloli cocked an eyebrow and looked first at her then down at her fist with a dubious expression on her face.

"You know...this is getting really confusing. Why didn't Hotaru simply have you convert his body into a cybernetic one and insert this before all of this began? And didn't she turn me into a cyborg and do the same?" Mahaloli questioned as Yuki nodded in understanding.

"Though there is not much time, I shall endeavor to answer your questions as satisfactorily as I can. First, Mistress Hotaru was not able to transform W-Fox's organic body into a cybernetic one due to, simply enough, her absent mindedness.  Though this is also what could be considered a blessing in disguise.  Considering the fact that after Xergo Proxy Ultimate was initially defeated, or thought to be defeated, and Hotaru and myself forced to abandon this dimension all known Cookies clones were thought to have been destroyed by an outraged populous, finding even one remaining clone intact was 0.00000000001% likely. Thus Hotaru was forced to manipulate what she had through what she has dubbed "Suggestive Injection", or, simply enough, the manipulation of segments and chemicals within brain in order to motivate an organic being into acting a certain way. This occurred simultaneously when W-Fox was injected with the memory core and database.  The yo-yo, which you have not been informed about but likely will be, was simply an old inside joke between the Mistress and the shop keeper," Yuki said as Mahaloli nodded in understanding.

"Okay, that explains why Fox has been behaving the way he has, but what about me? Why did she store me on a train and why didn't she turn me into a cyborg that she could manipulate too?" the azure haired young woman inquired as Yuki nodded and continued.

"Placing you on the S.T.A.R. Corps Train, as the mistress indicated prior to our conversation, was to serve as a test to see if Fox would have even been a suitable clone for the task at hand. As for why she did not modify your body I can only say that the mistress must hold some respect, feelings of friendship, or love for you. I am not certain," the alien stated with a slight bow of her head.  "Now if you will excuse me, I must teleport you to Fox's current location," Yuki stated as Mahaloli cocked an eyebrow at her once more.

"Teleport me? You can do that?"

However, instead of receiving an answer to her question, the azure hair girl disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Now then, Boss Roy, as by my Mistress's humble request, please do not interfere," Yuki said to no one and nothing in particular as she bowed slightly before disappearing herself.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

The figure leaned against a rusted old lamp post, thankful for the rest.  They weren't sure why they had come to this abandoned, weed filled lot, it was almost as if they'd been drawn here by . . . something.  The cloaked stranger wasn't sure what it could be, but it felt like something they needed was nearby.

And that feeling seemed to be leading them towards the large, ragged looking circus tent which was standing in the heart of the abandoned lot.

Pushing off from the lamp post, the figure continued their weary trek forward.  They were still injured, but recovering even more quickly now that they were conscious and able to channel their body's efforts more efficiently.  And the better they felt, the stronger this odd feeling they were feeling got.

A few moments later, they pushed aside the flap and entered the tent.  It was . . . certainly more spacious then they were expecting.  The sensation of dimensional warping was quite evident in here, which was quite interesting.  Whoever did this must have had considerable power.

'Well, here goes nothing . . .' they thought nervously.

The figure then drew in a painful breath before calling out - "Hello?  Anyone?"

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Subterranean Lair, August 25, 1:00 a.m., 3036 A.S

Fox sighed wistfully as he continued to leaf through a ragged, hard back edition of "War and Peace" and occasionally took a sip of tea from a dainty tea cup at his side or a small wooden table.  Though the liquid no longer offered him any real sustenance, the taste was refreshing for his taste buds and the aroma of Earl Grey was quite charming as well. Besides, it wasn't as if any press matters were at hand and Cookies had yet to contact him for anything important, so what would a little relaxation hurt? It also didn't help matters that the velvet, violet arm chair he just purchased from the Hazy-Boy Bong shop was almost supernaturally comfortable.

"Now this is the life," Fox sighed to himself once more as he set his book down on his lap again and looked up toward the giant monitor before him wondering if, perhaps, he should bother contacting his superior. After a moment of deep thought, however, he immediately decided that his arm chair was much to comfortable to leave in order to gallivanting off on some mission that might very well end in his demise.

"Besides, it's not like Zero has made any major moves yet," the cyborg rationalized as he reopened his book and continued to read, almost completely oblivious to the fact that the blast doors were sliding open. However, considering that no one other than Cookies herself, or perhaps Yuki, knew of the entry code it was of little consequence to him, aside from the annoyance of receiving another mission, if one of them entered unannounced.  It was Cookies' bunker after all...

"So you're Fox I take it?" came a voice which Fox only vaguely recognized.

Looking up out the corner of his eye, the cyborg noticed a curvatious young woman wearing a ratty bathrobe and bunny socks standing in front of the blast doors.  "Uh...yeah? Can I help you?" the man questioned, somewhat irritated, as he slammed his book shut and looked up face the young woman who had intruded on his sacred space.

"Yeah, you can. Cookies sent me to find you. I'm Mahaloli," the azure haired young woman greeted with a devious smile on her face as she strode further into the bunker, giving the place a look around.  "I love what you've done with the place, by the way. Drab gray steel is definitely a good look for a cyborg," Mahaloli stated in jest as Fox cocked an eyebrow and frowned slightly both at her comment and how casually she approached him.

"Yes, I vaguely recall that Cookies knew a Mahaloli, but what do you want with me? As far as I knew Cookies wanted me to do this mission alone," Fox said with a dubious expression forming on his face. For some reason he was getting the vibe that he shouldn't trust this Mahaloli character, but there was also something within him that wouldn't allow him to refuse her presence. It was very odd to say the least.

"Well, Fox, there's been a change in plans. Cookies contracted me with the expressed intent of my assisting you with your mission, so you'd better get over any reservations you have concerning working with me," the curvy young woman stated bluntly as she stopped right beside Fox's table and looked down at his cup of tea with a curious expression on her face. "Cyborgs drink tea?"

"I do," Fox replied just as bluntly, his eyes slightly slanted in suspicion.  Something was screaming within him not to trust Mahaloli, but something just as strong was subduing his urge to jettison the blue haired woman from the bunker. 'Damn, what's wrong with me?! Is it possible for cyborgs to be bi-polar?' the raven haired man thought to himself with a slight frown as Mahaloli simply shrugged at his words.  "Anyway, well if that's the case there isn't much I can tell you about the mission's current objectives. Cookies has yet to contact me about it."

"I know," Mahaloli said, her face now mask of indecision as her brow furrowed slightly as if she was concentrating on a serious moral dilemma.

Now Fox was becoming really worried and he voiced his concerns.  "Hey, uh, are you going to be okay? Fox inquired as he started to rise from his chair.  However, before he got very far, Mahaloli cried, with a wild panicked look in her eyes, "OH! WHAT'S THAT?!"  Spinning around, despite the fact that his sensors had picked up nothing, Cookies frowned slightly and, just as he was about to ask the azure haired woman what exactly was wrong with her, turned to find the Mahaloli had somehow disappeared.

Furrowing his brow slightly, both in confusion and suspicion, Fox visually scanned the room for a moment and, upon coming up with nothing, simply shrugged, sighed and took a seat again. "Whatever...what a random chick," he muttered to himself as he cracked open "War and Peace" once more and started to read before picking up his tea cup and taking a sip...

"GAH! BLEH?! WAH!!!!!" Fox gagged, choked, and screamed as he tossed his tea cup into the air and clutched his aching chest. It was as if someone was ripping him open from the inside and he was powerless to stop them. His eyes bugged out of his skull and his mouth grew numb and dry as though it had been filled with sand. It only took a second, however, before his spasms came to an abrupt end and he slumped over in his chair.

Meanwhile, underneath the arm chair, Mahaloli was shaking in both dread and anticipation.  She dreaded what would happen to her if Cookies' little device didn't work, and she anticipated it would probably just as bad as if the device did end up working. She didn't have to wait long to receive her answer however-

"HEY! GOOD JOB!"

"AYIEEEEE!" cried the azure haired young woman in both fright and surprise as Fox's masked face suddenly appeared in front of her, staring at her upside down.

"Jeez, what are you screaming for? It's me, Cookies," the cyborg grumbled as he put his fingers in his ears in an effort to end the ringing.

Mahaloli simply glared at the man for a moment before sighing and frowning. "Whatever, Cookies, let's just get this show on the road. I don't have all day you know," the pinked eye woman stated as she rolled out from under the chair and onto her feet.

"Right, right," Cookies nodded in agreement as he too stood and looked around the room. "Well we can do just that as soon as I find my fedora and find you some new clothes," the burly cyborg stated as he grabbed Mahaloli's hand and led her to a nearby wooden cabinet in which he extracted his signature black fedora and a more adult version of one of Mahaloli's older outfits, which consisted of blue, black, and gray fatigues, a tight black t-shirt, black combat boots, and a blue and black beret.

"Alright, General, throw these on and we'll be ready to go," Cookies said as he handed the clothes to Mahaloli who only too gladly accepted them.

"Thank God for you sometimes Cookies, these clothes are definitely better than wearing Roy Doll's old clothes."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

"Hello? Anyone?"

The cloaked figure's answer was not long in waiting.

"You're the pizza delivery guy, right? You're late, you know," The voice called out. "I've been waiting for nearly thirty minutes now. If you were any later, I'd expect you to uphold your policy of giving my money back," they said. "Just bring it back here," The voice said. A light came on in the back, brightening up the tent and revealing a cloaked figure watching what looked like... a familiar radar screen... displayed on it, however, was a cartoon, and not radar.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

The cloaked figure peered at the guy watching cartoons.  He certainly looked annoyingly familiar, but they knew that they were not who they appeared to be.  Nor were they the person that they were looking for.

"You . . . you're not the person that created this space.  I was looking for someone . . . more."  With that, the cloaked figure turned and began to exit.

"Sorry for bothering you.  The person I'm looking for has apparently already left."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

"Wait, you're not the pizza guy?" The cloaked figure sounded a bit surprised. As the cloaked stranger made his exit, the sounds from the radar screen stopped, and all light in the tent vanished. Thunder sounded in the distance and light from a bolt of lighting flashed in through the tent flap, revealing the silhouette of a tall figure. The man pushed into the tent through the flap and stopped upon spotting his guest.

The ambient light brightened again, revealing an interior completely different from what had been in it moments before, as well as the form of the newcomer. He stood tall in his purple tuxedo and vampire cloak, with a rounded mask covering his face. He seemed to exude an aura of authority, despite his exotic appearance.

"Hmm?" The figure chuckled, before speaking in a rich, deep voice. "What have we here? A visitor to my humble tent, and leaving so soon?" Lightning flashed, highlighting flecks of red on the visor of the man's helmet through the open flap, and thunder rolled in the distance. Drops of rain began to rapidly fall outside and the man inclined his head. "The weather turns foul. I was not expecting any guests until the new moon on the morrow, but perhaps you would like to stay a moment longer until it clears up?"

[Lathis]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

The cloaked figure stopped to regard this newcomer . . . then turned around, a bit confused.  No . . . there was no longer anyone behind them anymore.  How odd.

The figure then returned their attention back to the oddly dressed stranger before them.  He didn't feel familiar at all, but the figure got the oddest feeling that this might be exactly what they were looking for.

"I've never been a fan of the rain . . . Maybe I will stay for a moment, Mr . . .?"

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

"Ah, but where are my manners," The man said with a light chuckle. "You may call me Zero. Please, make yourself comfortable." He said, gesturing the interior of the tent. A spotlight clicked on and the bright light shone down on a large, round table with only two chairs, each one opposing the other. Zero made his way towards the table. "Might I ask what it is that brought you here, Mr...?"

[Lathis]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:31 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

"Excuse me?"  The figure stared indignantly at the so called 'Zero', "Excuse me?  - Mister?"

The figure furiously pulled back their hood -

Allowing a voluminous wave of crimson hair to cascade down around her shoulders.  The flaming red hair framed her lovely porcelain skin, causing her flashing green eyes to stand out like twin emeralds.

She then planted her fists firmly on her hips, causing her cloak to open enough to reveal a very form fitting black body suit which left very little to the imagination.

"My name is Galin Cognito, and I'd thank you very much not to call me a guy again."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:31 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

Zero stared at 'Galin' for a moment, then nodded.

"My apologies, Ms. Cognito. But you must admit, the cloak is not very complimentary towards your feminine figure. Hmmm... By any chance, you wouldn't happen to know a Suzumiya Haruhi or Guyin Cognito, now would you?" He asked, reaching up to rub his chin... but only rubbing his mask instead.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:31 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

Galin rolled her eyes before giggling in amusement.

"Um, yeah.  They're kinda my parents.  Of course, I haven't seen my mother for a few thousand years now . . . which is kinda one of the reasons I'm hear-" The cloaked redhed began to chuckle nervously - "Heh  . . . yeah, one of the reasons."

She then shook her head, returning her full attention to the person before her.

"Speaking of which, you must be a lot older than you look to remember those names in this dimension . . . either that, or my dad left way more of an impression here than I figured.  How exactly do you know of them?"

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:32 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

Zero simply chuckled for a moment, before shaking his head.

"I see." He cleared his throat and looked up at Galin again. "Let us say that I was an acquaintance of theirs. But enough about me," He said, tilting his head. "I remain curious as to what else could have brought you here to this realm. When Guyin disappeared from this universe as a result of some most unexpectedly delightful treachery at the hands of one Overlord Cookies, I did not expect to see any trace of him again. Tell me... how is he now? And please, there is no need to remain standing," He said, gesturing the table.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:32 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

Galin quirked an eyebrow in amusement at her companion's comment.  "Overlord Cookies?"  The attractive redhead shook her head as she moved over to the table to take a seat.  "From what I heard from my father, Cookies was little more than a hopped up magical girl.  Intergalactic standards must have gone down quite a bit over the past few millennia.'

Smirking wickedly, she sat down . . . only for her smile to quickly fade as she recalled her purpose here.

"As for my father, he's run into a . . . a spot of difficulty lately, difficulty which could spill out into this Prime dimension all too soon if nothing is done to help him.  It took all of my power and more just to breach the dimensional barrier to get back here, but it was the only way I could think to save my father . . ."

"You see, I need to find my mother . . . wherever she might have gone."

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; The Remains of the Colossus Flagship of the Clockwork Knights, August 25, 10:00 p.m., 3036 A.S

"Uh...Cookies, what exactly are we doing here? The Colossus is completely non-functional," Mahaloli stated as they strode into the command center of the cold, damp, lifeless ship that was once on of the most powerful within the Clockwork Knights armada.

Pushing a damp set of thick wires away from his face, Cookies took a moment to turn around and face the blue haired woman before him.  "Well you see, General, I stored a very valuable piece of equipment on this ship, and it is pertinent that I retrieve it before the Overlord Council finds out I have it stored here," the android stated as he turned around once more and walked over to a nearby command console and took a seat in a large, metallic swivel chair precariously perched atop some steel beams that had pierced through the floor likely during an explosion of the lower level.  "So, once I access these files I should know exactly where I placed it so that we can hurry up and get the heck out of here," Cookies continued as he placed a metallic hand on the console  and focused in on it.

Within seconds his hand began to glow with an eerie gold energy as sparks, like fire crackers, sprayed from the console and a loud humming sound began to echo throughout the moon lit command center, the light filtering through the decrypted remains of bent and warped steel and through the giant hole that was once a roof.  As Cookies continued to focus on his task he failed to notice a devious smile spreading across the hazel skinned girl's face, her pink eyes twinkling malevolently as she watched the android filter life into the machine once more.

"Alright," the raven haired android declared after a short while, "That should do it!" No sooner had he finished speaking then a large, red holographic screen appeared before him as the expansive console lit up in a brilliant array of blue, green, and yellow keys, buttons, and switches.

"Please enter your name and identification number," the console requested as Cookies set about typing in his information, completely ignorant of the fact that Mahaloli's eyes had started to shift from pink to a rich chocolate brown with flecks of yellow scattered across her irises.

"One moment please....processing data," the machine declared as the android finished imputing his information and sat back for a moment. "Data processing...streaming....streaming....records located. Welcome Lieutenant Cookies, how may this unit assist you today?"

Cookies smiled wickedly.  "Computer, locate the the Ragnarok Force Cannon," Cookies stated as he reclined further in his chair and sighed a brief sigh of relief.  "I'm so glad I got here before they did," the android muttered to himself as the holographic screen showed a 3-D layout of the flagship before proceeding to scan every room for Cookies' request.  Seconds later it had found it.

"Item located. The Ragnarok Force Cannon is located in the Quantum Reactor Control Room with locker 4657-B. Is there anything else that I may assist you with today, Lieutenant?"

"No, that will be all. Thank you computer."

"...Computer Unit 5657-Alpha does not recognize the voice of the user. Please, Lieutenant, repeat your orders."

Though the computer had asked him to repeat his orders, Cookies found himself to be a bit preoccupied with the person who had, rather rudely and smugly, affronted his command. Glaring at Mahaloli, Cookies frowned and said, "Very cute, General, but don't do that again."  However, instead of pouting or frowning as she would normally be inclined to do Mahaloli simply continued to smile her maniacal, smug smile.

Cookies frowned a bit more deeply at this and cocked his head to the side for a moment, his face the epitome of concentration, before his mask broke and a maniacal smile appeared on his face as well. Laughing caustically and with little mirth Cookies stated, in a low, deep voice, "So it was as I suspected after all. The General never sought the services of S.T.A.R. Corps and that fickle bitch Gertrude knew all along that I was the president of the company. So both you and she are spies for the Overlord Council and the Multidimensional Council...let me guess, it's you, isn't it, L-sama?"

"Mahaloli's" grin grew even wider at Cookies declaration as she shook her head slowly and watched with supreme glee as Cookies' smile immediately fell from his face only to be replaced by a look of extreme horror and absolute dread.

"It's you! W-Fox-sama! B-B-But how?! I killed you a hundred millennium ago!" Cookies cried, completely aghast as "Fox" shook her head once more and continued to smile her devilish smile, though her face and features were rapidly warping and shifting.

"Wrong again Cookies, but very close. I'm W-Vulpine, the son of the Overlord you killed a hundred millennium ago, and I'm here to make sure, among other things, you never lay your hands on that cannon," the figure declared as his very attire shifted with the rest of his body before finally forming another complete figure. Standing at about five feet, six inches, was a lithe young man with a charmingly boyish face, long, slightly curled white hair that extended down to the small of his back in a feathered style, and crazed, fox like, brown-gold eyes that seemed to pierce Cookies' very soul. His attire, consisting of a white, chocolate brown, and gold vest, a pair of baggy, black shorts that hung just above his knees, and a pair of boots the same colour as his vest, were those of a young adult and far from menacing...though that mattered little.

"DAMN IT!" Cookies hissed as he shoot out of his chair feet first, intent of slamming through the man's chest.  Fox easily side stepped the attack however, and watched as the android slammed through the metal wall and into the storage closet just behind it.

"Heh, did you honestly think I was going to let you get away with cloning my father's body and making him look like a fool? Even if you told everyone your name was Cookies, it was his face that you used was his and that is completely unforgivable. I'm going to destroy this body of yours, Cookies, and then I'll defeat this new Xergo, Xaro, Zerbo...whatever the hell his name is! And I'll reclaim the face of my family and their honour. After that, I'll make sure you and your little crew are imprisoned with the Nether Realm for the rest of eternity!" Vulpine declared as he waved his hand in front of him, summoning up a feral cloud of black energy which coalesced into a giant, onyx bow.

"Prepare to die Cookies!" the young man declared as he summoned forth a set of arrows comprised of the same matter as the bow and nocked them.

Cookies had other plans, however, and, upon recovering, immediately slammed a foot into the ground and plummeted threw the metal of the ship once more.

"Tch!" Fox hissed, clearly irritated, as he gave chase.

Cookies wasted no time in running out the decrypted barracks he had crashed into and down the ill lit, debris filled hallway of the ship. "SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! There's no way I can take this guy in this body!" the android exclaimed in horror as he twirled around a steel beam in the center of the hallway and continued toward the Quantum Reactor Command Center.  "If I can just get that damn cannon! If I can get it I can beat him for sure," the raven haired being declared, jumping over a series of beams, as he twisted down another hallway and ducked under a set of wires.

Making good time, Cookies sprinted through the doors of the doors of the Reactor Room and immediately located his locker amidst hundreds of others in the expansive room.  After punching a metallic fist through the rusted steel door of the locker, Cookies then proceeded to rip the door of it's hinges.

"Come on baby, please be here, please!" the android prayed as he reached a hand into the locker once more and, with immeasurable glee,  grabbed a giant, metallic, cylindrical device from within the confines of the void.  Extracting his hand in the blink of an eye, Cookies' looked over his newly acquired weapon lovingly. "Oh baby, mommy missed you so much!" she declared as the android kissed the giant cannon, which was roughly 2x's the android's height, and made sure it was still operational. Hearing the device hum to life, Cookies sighed in relief...though he failed to notice the figure outside of the room precariously perched on the edge of a broken containment sphere within the enormous Quantum Reactor Room.

Lining up his shot, Vulpine said nothing, and let an arrow loose through the giant, glassless window of the command room.  Cookies didn't even notice the arrow soaring toward his head until the last possible second as his eyes widened and his reflex's kicked in.  Unfortunately for Cookies, though quite fortunately for W-Vulpine, the arrow, which missed Cookies by mere centimeters pierced through the Ragnarok Force Cannon causing it to dissolve into microscopic particles in nanoseconds.

Cookies could only stare, wide eyed and agape, as his hands open and closed around nothing but the numbing memory of feeling his beloved cannon.  "No," he whispered at first in total disbelief, tears biting and stinging his eyes, before he cried out in awesome agony, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

"Tch, I meant to pierce his skull," W-Vulpine grumbled  to himself of in the distance as he nocked another arrow and prepared to try again. Cookies, who heard the young man nock his bow, was not having it however.

"YOU!" he hissed, his eyes a fire with rage, as he pointed an accusatory finger at the white haired man. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!!!!" he cried before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Shit!" Vulpine hissed, his eyes wide with surprise, as he narrowly jumped off the sphere in time to avoid the giant incinerating blast with destroyed the remnants of the containing spheres.  "W-W-What the hell?! The Council told me that he'd be powerless in this body!" the albino exclaimed in horror as the figure of Cookies, looking very much like the devil himself, levitated within the confines fiery pillar he just created.  Vulpine felt his heart drop into his stomach as he watched his opponent's eyes shift from brown, like his father's, to a deep violet glowing with malevolent energy.

"W-What the heck is going on here?!" Fox cried out as the figure floated toward the pipe the man was perched on, completely ignoring the fact that he was nocking another set of arrows.

-Meanwhile-

Hotaru's Dimension; Concentration Chamber; August 25, 10:15 p.m., 3036 A.S

The Concentration Chamber, a room completely composed of raw energy that hovered in a void outside of any known space, had never felt such dark energy flow through it as that which flowed from one Hotaru Tomoe.

Her brow was saturated with sweat, her eyes moving as though she had gone into REM sleep, and an aura of violet, galaxy destroying energy continued to swirl around her like hurricane. However, the most frightening thing occurring was not the energy, though it was fairly close, but was rather the mantra the violet haired girl continued to mutter bitterly underneath her breath.

"I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll kill him!"

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; The Remains of the Colossus Flagship of the Clockwork Knights, August 25, 10:16 p.m., 3036 A.S

Just as W-Vulpine set about to nock another arrow, the others having been dodged effortlessly by Cookies, something bizarre about the android caught his attention. "Is...is he transforming into a...she?" the albino declared in disbelief as he watched the androids body start to warp and bend into that of a slight female around 19 years of age. He then watched in horror as the metal was rendered asunder and replaced by flesh. "Shit! I don't know what the hell is happening, but I can't let this continue!" Vulpine declared as he waved his hand causing both his bow and arrow to disappear and did so once more creating an onyx dagger which he immediately grabbed a hold of.

"DIE COOKIES!" he cried wildly as he sprang into the air and lunged at the transforming figure, who simply smiled wickedly in response.

"SILENCE POWER!" the grotesque mockery of life declared as a giant sphere of violet, black, and white energy exploded from the figure's body and consumed the pair, the room, and then the entire ship...

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Giant Crater that was Once The Remains of the Colossus Flagship of the Clockwork Knights, August 25, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S

Amidst the smoldering crater that was once a flagship laid a lone figure. Female in appearance and, if her nude appearance was any indication, in sex, the figure's long snow white hair cascaded down to her shoulder blades in waves. Her figure was slight, but her lovely porcelain skin and innocent beauty could not be denied as she laid within the black, burnt dirt asleep and oblivious of the world. Near her body was an object reminiscent of a glaive, twisted and warped into an onyx nightmare which, truth be told, would be rather fitting based on how she would feel when she awoke.

Tomorrow she would a wake into a nightmare from which there would be no escape.

Hotaru's Dimension; Concentration Chamber; August 25, 10:30 p.m., 3036 A.S

Where there was once a young woman summoning a torrent of energy, there was now only silence which was immediately broken by a pitying sigh from a lavender haired girl in a school uniform.

"With the disappearance of Hotaru Tomoe, Yuki Nagato is now the Overlord of this realm. Contacting Master Happosi has taken precedent over all previous orders. "

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:32 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

"The hopped up magical girl was Kasumi, if I recall," Zero said with a wasted thoughtful look on his face as he moved to sit opposite her. "Cookies was apparently some sort of trans-dimensional being who simply had incredibly bizarre tastes, and a slew of alternate identities..." Zero's 'gaze' fell back down to the young lady as soon when he sat down. "Unfortunately, as for your mother, I too, am unsure of her location. I have conducted something of an investigation over the millenia out of curiosity, but I did not place much priority into it." He said. "It was my investigation that led me back to this planet, however. But," He tilted his head. "What, exactly, is the nature of this... difficulty?" The man beneath the mask frowned as he realized something. "Would it have anything to do with the crash outside of the city earlier?"

[Lathis]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:32 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

Galin nodded.  "Though indirectly, yes, yes it was.  I made my escape at the last possible moment, but . . . it sent something to stop me.  I tried to fight it, but nothing I could do could hurt it.  I spent five hours on that damned ship as that thing systematically killed everyone and everything alive while it hunted me down like a rat.  Eventually, I had to trick the . . . thing into the antimatter reactor . . . though even with that, I'm not certain it died . . ."

She shook her head again.  "I don't think there is a word for it, but whatever it is that broke its way into my father's dimension, it's not going to stop there.  I'm hoping that my mother might be able to help, but even that is doubtful.  And if we can't even find her . . . then far more radical measures will be needed to be taken."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:32 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

Zero gave Galin a silent stare as he considered her words.

"Hmm... I see..." He looked down at her. "So what are you planning to do about it? With, or without your mother, you must surely have a plan of action. If it were someone like Roy Doll, then he would simply go in swinging his sword about... and while generally that would actually go well for him, this is likely not such a case. What exactly is it doing to your father's realm that has you in such dire straits anyway?"

[Lathis]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:33 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

Galin sighed weakly.

"What's it doing?  It's winning."  Galin's head dropped gently to the table as she took a moment to collect herself.  "Understand, my father is the Overlord of his dimension; he has absolute control of the very concept of reality within his domain, shapes the fabric of the dimension by pure force of will.  And yet this - thing - is - winning. "er

The cloaked girl silently thumped her fist against the table.  "Certainly, my father isn't the most powerful of the Overlords, but he's more clever, has accumulated more mystical lore and dirty tricks than over half of the Overlord Council combined, but it's all he can do just to keep that thing contained within his realm."

Slowly, Galin lifted her head to stare at Zero.  "Which is why I need to find my mother.  As impressive as the Overlords are, they're just a gang of ascended beings, as far below the true gods as mortals are below them.  The only being I know of that might have a chance against this thing would be my mother . . . but even that's questionable."

The redhead's face grew more serious as she spoke.  "You are right, though.  With or without her, I do have a plan.  It would take all the power in the universe to fight this thing, but only if that power was united."  Slowly a grim smile began to spread on her lips.  "There was a reason I sought you out.  I sensed your power; I could feel your strength from half the universe away.  In all the cosmos, you might be the one person that can do what needs to be done."

Pushing herself to her feet, she leaned forward across the table, matching Zero's stare intently.

"I need you to conquer the universe in order to save it."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet, Grim City; District 36; August 25, 10:34 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

Zero regarded her with intense scrutiny for a long moment... then chuckled.

"Conquer the universe in order to save it?"

He shook his head.

"I have no desire to paint myself as someone who would do so in the pursuit of heroics." The man held his gaze up to her. "But it is so. To conquer this universe, and rip out the vile corruption that has become so deeply ingrained in it would be to save it, and I certainly have no compunctions in doing so to stave off otherworldly horrors. I had thought the Overlord Council would already be investigating the appearance of that... thing, earlier. Considering what you've said, those tremors in the dimensional fabric last night were caused by that which pursued you into this realm... but it was allowed to pursue you this far."

He shook his head again, much slower this time.

"It seems I will have to accelerate the operation, after all." With that, Zero stood. "Ms. Cognito, rest assured that I will conquer this universe. However, there are some loose ends I must tie up before I can engage my plans." He held up a gloved hand and flipped out a metallic business card for a security firm in Grim City with a scrolling marquee that displayed the motto. "Go to this place. There you will find the Clockwork Knights. The current CEO is a man known as Boss Roy, or previously, Roy Doll; ask to speak with him personally at the front desk. You may feel safe in explaining the situation to him, as he was also an acquaintance of your father's. He was to be joining me, anyway, but if you can meet with him, I have a feeling you can help him make the decision... sooner, rather than later. The Clockwork Knights will be an invaluable asset in pursuing my goal."


Grim Planet; Grim City, District 24; Deep Subterranean Hidden Lair; Giant Crater that was Once The Remains of the Colossus Flagship of the Clockwork Knights, August 25, 10:34 p.m., 3036 A.S


Boss Roy scowled when he saw what was left of the Colossus. That is, nothing.

"Damn it! What the hell happened here?" He narrowed his eyes. "I can't imagine Xergo having been involved in this, so what, exactly happened here?" The Colossus had been long inactive, so long in fact, that none of the current Clockwork Knights save himself even knew of its existence. 'Hmm... could it really be? That that cloaked figure I saw earlier... was it really Guyin?' He frowned. Suzu had informed him that the survivor from the crash had vanished suddenly just before a scheduled sponge bath, leaving the people who'd been taking care of him in an uproar. 'Is it possible he was seeking out something familiar? But why would he destroy it?'

Then Boss shook his head.

'No, the better question is why wouldn't he destroy it. Whether as an accident or a joke, he was bound to cause some destruction at some point.' Boss sighed and leapt down into the large crater... only to find someone laying there in surprise.

Then he blinked.

"Well, obviously not him," He muttered, before grabbing the woman and hefting her over a shoulder. "First that blue haired girl, now this... I'll have to see what Suzu says about that droid, too," He muttered before turning and walking off.

[Ebony Debony]

Following the defeat of the entire Faustian Armada during the Three Day War, the Mephistopheles Empire had fallen into considerable disarray. Several Warlords arose from the shadows, once constrained by the sheer might of Xergo Proxy Ultimate and Lord Faust, and began to decay the little structure that supported the Empire. Outposts on other colonized planets were reclaimed by the indigenous populations, civil war and internal strife lead to the catastrophic loss of hundreds of millions of lives and the deterioration of civilization, and the mighty families who had constructed the empire felt their power wane by the days. For awhile it appeared as though the entire empire would implode on itself, ceasing to exist entirely, until one man stepped forth amidst the chaos to reclaim the power that was once held by his family.

Sigurd Goethe, the great grandson of the fallen Lord Faust, came forward with a might unseen by the Beelzebub Galaxy in over a millennium. Amassing troops of great skill and power, generals of unfathomable depths of intellect, and wielding the power imbued to him by blood Sigurd swiftly conquered his  opposition.  Warlord, after warlord, after warlord fell before the power of his army as order was restored to the chaotic land and the empire rebuilt itself even stronger than it was during the seemingly divine reign of Xergo Proxy Ultimate. Outposts were reclaimed and new ones were added in tens of different galaxies, each with more stable governments and colonies and more subservient populations.

Yes, the reign of Sigurd was a grand one...but he made one terrible mistake. During his reign, the Emperor of Mephistopheles made several policy changes that created a slightly less stratified society and allowed for far more upward mobility than had ever been known before. Education was improved, health care was improved, and the accessibility of food for peoples throughout the entire empire increased exponentially. However, such improvements came at  price. Seemingly not as altruistic and munificent as he appeared, Sigurd eradicated the wealth of the founding families in order to fund his social programs, though the immeasurable wealth of his family remained. This, of course, stirred up quite a bit of resentment among the families, though Sigurd's power and his control of the lands held them in check for centuries.

Unfortunately, with his death, a new chapter was to be written for the Mephistopheles Empire...and that chapter spelled the end of the reign of the Faustian Family.

Planet Mephistopheles; Capital City-Gilgamesh Spiral; Faustian Palace-Meeting Chamber; August 25, 11:59 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

"They're planning on eradicating us I tell you!" snapped a young man of a fair complexion, snow white hair, and a lithe figure as he glared at everyone seated around a large, onyx round table. Donning a set of elegant red, black, and gold robes he greatly resembled a number of religious figures and commanded a presence that very much matched.

"Oh silence Nero, no one cares to listen to your conspiracy theories. No one can touch the Faustian family, especially not the fallen families, we're too powerful," stated a burly man donning a striking black suit with a royale blue and gold tie. His sandy brown hair was short cropped and he sported a sizable beard which extended slightly past his chiseled chest which added an even more diabolical flare to that exuded by his blood red eyes.

"Besides, I thought we were here to discuss how best to address the insurgences on Erados?" the man continued as he leaned back in his large, elegantly crafted, onyx chair and tapped on his arm rest impatiently.

"We were, my dear Rasputin, we were.  Unfortunately Atlas broached the topic of rebellions on this planet and got poor Nero started on the "Families Conspiracy"...again," stated a middle aged woman apathetically as she took a long drag on her cigarette and allowed the smoke to filter through her thin, noble nose and past her rosy full lips. Adjusting her stylish red blazer so as to line it up with skirt, the buxom woman shot a rather morose looking a man a subtle look of disdain, her blood red eyes glowing slightly.

Shrugging slightly, as he was often want to do, the giant of a man known as Atlas looked down at Nero from his spot beside him and said, "Alice may be right you know. Dear Nero, why do you burden your soul with such wild and delusional theories? You know they can't be good for your health and your already high blood pressure."

Nero shot the burly, olive skinned, wavy haired giant a look of disdain before muttering, "I'd tell you to shut your mouth, brother, but I'm afraid you'd crush me."

"Well, gentlemen and lady, what say you to getting back on topic, 'eh? While I'm sure that there is some measure of validity to our brother Nero's suspicions, at the moment we have to tangible evidence needed to stage a mass movement of troops in order to find the Families," stated a woman, who appeared to be no older than her early thirties, as she smiled humorously and shook her head. Lilin von Faust, the head of the Faustian family, was considered throughout most of the empire to be the epitome of what a good ruler should be. She was gorgeous, sporting a toned hour-glass figure, an inhumanly beautiful, though slightly devilish, rounded face, and had a smile, despite her monstrous canines, that could capture the heart of any man...and a few women. She was also a shrewd business woman, knowledgeable concerning past and current events, and, when it came down to it, knew how to use a myriad of weapons effectively. A pity, then, that she would die shortly after finishing her sentence.

"LILIN!!!!" Nero cried out in horror, but it was too late.

Before anyone could blink the jowls of a creature, larger than even Atlas himself, bared down on the poor, unsuspecting woman and consumed her in one fell swoop with only the sound of a morbid, though oddly proper crunch giving any indication that she would be dead before being digested.

Everyone sat in horror, seemingly unable to move, as they took in the beast's monstrous form. Even on planet named after a devil, no one had ever seen such a monstrous and seemingly disfigured creature in all their lives. It's head was, at the very least, the size of a small bus with fangs and razor sharp teeth the extended out of its mouth and down to it's jaw. It's eyes, if they could be called such, seemed to be nothing more than holes of rotted flesh and decay, spanning the entire skull up from the nose to the disfigured obtrusion that could scarcely be called an ear. It had six arms, or rather arm like appendages, that were just as grotesque as it's head a were approximately the size of Atlas' body and featured claws that more closely resembled razor sharp blades then they did any actual organic matter. It's torso was thin and scrawny, seemingly a cruel joke of random mutation when one considered how massive the creature's arms were. Further, its legs, of which there were eight, were the size of tree trunks and seemed to be just as think with bulging and pulsing muscles covered by decayed, gray flesh.

"W-W-What the hell is that thing?!" exclaimed Alice in mixture of awe, horror, and dread as she attempted to leap up from her seat. Unfortunately her response was only met by the discharge of a razor sharp claw that embedded itself within her chest, pinning her faultlessly to her chair, and another than severed her head from her shoulders.

Atlas didn't even have time to blink as he met the same fate, though obviously through the use of more claws.

"DAMN YOU!" Rasputin bellowed as he raised a glowing, blood red hand as a pitiful offensive act, only to be consumed by the creature before discharging anything.

Meanwhile, Nero, who had been the first to see the creature appear seemingly from out of thin air, had stealthily managed to escape through a secret drop shoot attached to one of the elegant red, black, and gold stoned walls. Quickly making his way down the chandler lit hallway, decorated with elegant blood red carpeting, stone walls similar to those in the meeting chamber, and extraordinary works of art the young man muttered to himself, "There's no mistaking it...that's the Overlord Slayer. Only the rest of Families could have summoned that foul creature from the depths were Lord Mephistopheles had sealed it eons ago."

Planet Mephistopheles; Capital City-Gilgamesh Spiral; Faustian Palace-Mary's Room; August 26, 12:18 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

"Hildr! You must come with me quickly! It is of the utmost importance!" Nero cried as he abruptly burst through the onyx doors that led into the pitch black room. "Hildr? Are you there?" the fair skinned man inquired hesitantly as he tried to scan through room despite the seemingly impenetrable darkness.

"Uncle Nero," came a gruff feminine voice after a few seconds causing the older man to jump in surprise.

"HILDR! THANK MEPHISTOPHELES! Come, come, we must hurry before it is too late!"

"...Uncle Nero...is my mother dead?" the disembodied voice of Hildr inquired without a hint of inflection or emotion.

"What? Why are you?...Yes, Hildr, your mother is dead," Nero said, a bit bewildered, as he took a step forward into the room with a look of concern on his boyish face.

"Don't take another step!" Hildr snapped, causing the man to freeze in mid-step. "Uncle Nero, I command you, as the new head of the Faustian Family and the Mephistopheles Empire, to escape while I, Hildr ter Faust, will stay to slay this abomination."

Nero was confused for but a moment before it struck him. "You knew too!" he exclaimed somewhat more ecstatically then he had planned.

"Yes, I knew the Families were planning something devious, but, unlike you, I knew better than to try to persuade my mother and the others into believing me when I had no evidence. Now, Nero, I will not repeat myself," the disembodied voice stated gruffly once more.

Realizing that he could not persuade the woman against what he considered to be a foolish decision, Nero decided that saving his own skin was well worth the effort and immediately left the room.

Meanwhile, the sound of metal grating against metal could be heard echoing throughout the room as fiery sparks illuminated the iron helmeted face of Hildr ter Faust.
 
Planet Mephistopheles; Capital City-Gilgamesh Spiral; Faustian Palace-Grand Hall; August 26, 1:00 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

The Overlord Slayer waited patiently at the center of a large grand hall, standing at the center of motif depicting the deceased Lord Faust conveying a perfect sagacious image of the man. Before the beast were three sets of elegant spiral stair cases that led to the upper level where a painting of Xergo Proxy Ultimate hung.

While the beast's attention was initially left to wander, the clank of armor sounded the arrival of the one from whom he had been waiting.

"So you are the Overlord Slayer my great ancestor Lord Mephistopheles sealed in the deepest known of the planet?" an armour clad young woman inquired with a hint of skepticism as she drew out a war axe, crafted elegantly in the shape of a demon's face on one end and a molecule thick blade on the other, and a short sword featuring a glowing, blood red blade with a hilt depicting a similar demon. Her armour, though it could only loosely be called such, left little to the imagination as only the spaulders, which took on the shape of howling gargoyle faces, and greaves could be considered bulky enough to constitute the classical definition of armor. Otherwise her armour could be considered no more than a metallic body suit, and her helmet, with took an the shape of oni mask, barely managed to cover two-thirds of her head allowing her jet black hair to extend down to the nape of her neck.

In response to the young woman's question the beast seemed to snort in disgust as it flexed its claws irritably.

"I see, you're just as eager to begin as I am. Very well then. Let it begin."

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters (as per Zero's business card), August 26, 3:02 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin looked up from the card in her hand to the edifice before her.  It was hard to describe, but it certainly wasn't what she had expected.  Shrugging, she strolled into the building and approached the receptionist desk.

"I'm looking for Roy Doll.  Would you happen to know if he's in?" she asked the rather bored looking secretary.


Planet Mephistopheles; Capital City-Gilgamesh Spiral; Faustian Palace-Grand Hall; August 27, 12:00 a.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

Somewhere in the distance, a bell rang out in a low, carrying tone, signaling the beginning of the midnight hour.

Unfortunately, there were none present to appreciate that fact.  Nor was there anyone to tell what had happened to the once grand chamber.  Whatever grand battle had rocked this building had long ended.  Now the shattered remains of the hall stood in stark silence, shadows stretching out from the crumbled columns, strange liquids staining the once elegant staircases . . .  Truly the battle that had ensued here had rocked the very pillars of heaven itself . . .

And that was not meant in a metaphorical manner.  Whatever dark energies had been unleashed in that hellish battle had strained the very edges of reality itself, stretching thin the veil which shrouded the prime dimension. 

It was an irresistible beacon for that which could not be named.    Slowly, the air at the center of the chamber began to warp in a familiar manner.  All too soon, the already weakened dimensional barrier was rent asunder once more and a lump of unspeakable blackness was vomited forth.  Once it's vile delivery was made, the rift sealed itself.

It took several long moments for the creature to finally take humanoid form, standing well over seven feet high, but it began to move soon after.  It had only one thought in mind.

It needed to find the daughter of Suzumiya . . .

Right after it fed.

[Ebony Debony]

Planet Mephistopheles; Capital City-Gilgamesh Spiral; In an Alleyway Just Outside of the Faustian Palace; August 26, 8:00 p.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

"Damn, what could be taking that foolish girl?! Don't tell me she actual fought that creature to the death! There's no way she could have beaten it!" Nero snapped irritably under his breath as he continued to pace up and down the dingy, drab, and humid alleyway that stood between the servant's quarters and the guest house. Nero continued to pace for a time, biting his nails nervously, a habit which had annoyed his mother to no end, as he took a moment peak his head out of the alley every few minutes. While there had been explosions and the sound of great carnage a few hours ago, they had long since given way to a deafening silence that made the fair skinned man's blood run cold in his already icy veins.

"Alright, if she doesn't show up in the next five seconds I'm out of here," Nero amended to himself for the fifth time that evening, though at least this time he began a count down.

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Alrigh-," Nero began before he was cut off by the sound of clanking armour heading toward the alleyway. "Well it's about damn time!" the white haired man snapped as he saw a metallic arm come into view. However, what he saw next made his blood freeze in his veins.

"This...can't be good," he muttered numbly to himself as he watched the arm drop to the ground covered in some kind of viscus, clear fluid.  What made the scene more horrifying was the fact that it was no longer connected to anything or anyone. Then he heard the ungodly howl of the beast and his legs gave way underneath him.

Seeming to smell the man's fear, the Overlord Slayer's head turned the corner looking slightly worse for wear but nonetheless relatively intact...which was more than could obviously be said for his opponent.

"Lord Mephistopheles, let this be a terrible nightmare!" the fair skinned man cried out in horror, his eyes wide and mouth agape, as he attempted to scramble to his feet. The beast, however, had other intentions which did not include allowing the man to escape.

Crashing through the narrow alleyway, completely decimating the buildings on either side of it, the Overlord Slayer charged toward the poor, defenseless fool who would soon be locked between his jowls.

"DEAR LORD, NO!!!!" Nero cried out as his eyes snapped shut and he felt his body grown numb with fear.  An then their was a howl of agony...

"..."

"..."

"I'm alive?!" Nero questioned in disbelief, assuming that he had cried out himself initially, as he looked down at himself and noticed that he was still in one piece.  And then he looked up.

"Dear gods...Hildr?!"

The ungodly beast howled once more in terrible agony as a glowing blood red blade was extracted from it's skull a viscous, puss like, green fluid oozed out of an egregious wound spanning from the top of it's skull down the nape of it's neck.

"Did you really think you had finished with me beast?!" Hildr cried out irately and half crazed as she readied her blade one more, though this time she was an arm and an axe short.

Nero was completely confounded. Hildr should have surely been dead after an encounter with the Overlord Slayer, after all the creature had devoured tens of Overlords before ultimately being sealed away. However, somehow the girl had defiantly managed to beat the odds at the considerably lower cost of the loss of an arm rather than her life.

"Perhaps...she can defeat this?" Nero questioned both in disbelief and astonishment. Then reality struck a most brutal blow against his hopes as both Hildr and himself watched the beast's wound heal over in a matter of seconds. "Dear Lord...she doesn't stand a chance."

"DAMN IT! AGAIN?! THAT'S CHEATING!!!" Hildr snapped, clearly frustrated and furious, as she narrowly managed to leap over a swipe from the beast's monstrous claws. Breathing heavily, the young woman took a few seconds to recuperate and attempt to focus more on killing the Overlord Slayer rather than the indescribable pain pulsating from the jagged, torn flesh that had once been connected to her arm. Her brake was cut short when the beast turned its attention away from Nero and back toward her, seemingly glaring at her in disdain as its nostrils flared out and its teeth grated against one another.

"Hildr! We have to escape! There's no way we can defeat this thing! Even Lord Mephistopheles was only capable of sealing it away!" Nero cried out, but Hildr ignored him as she reached from her helmet and, with one swift motion, tore it from her face revealing her stunning, soot covered beauty to the world.  Looking very much like Lilin, the only difference between the pair was the fact that Hildr's eyes were a chocolate brown instead of a blood red.

"You run, Uncle, I won't! I have the pride of the Faustian family to consider! By Sigurd I will not allow our planet to fall to ruin once more!" the rave haired beauty cried out as her sword began to glow even more intensely. "Chaos Spiral!" she cried out as whipped her arm forward, expelling a torrential whirlwind chaotic energy from the blade which, within seconds, consumed the Overlord Slayer in energies that would rend his flesh from his bones. Smiling smugly, the young woman watched as the beast howled in agony within a crimson whirlwind unable to escape its awesome power.

"Heh, check and mate!" Hildr cried out victoriously as the winds began to die down and the dark energy dispersed.  However, what this dispersal revealed left the girl shaken to the core.

Despite the massive damage she had inflicted on the beast, it's wounds healed over in a matter of seconds once again as it prepared to bear down on her.

"Oh...this can't be good," she muttered numbly to herself as she took a hesitant step back and quickly reviewed her options. 'What are you going to do Hildr? Everything you've tried on this thing just tickled it and made it more pissed off. It's obvious energy attacks won't work, nor has anything else you've tried, so what are you other options? Come on, it's like Uncle Rasputin used to say, you have to out think your opponent sometimes,' the young girl thought to herself with a slight frown as she watched the beast's colossal horse like legs kick up a cloud of dust as it prepared to charge again.

"Come on, come on. Lord Mephistopheles was able to...seal it!" Hildr cried out as what she considered to be a brilliant idea popped abruptly into her head.  Smiling deviously, the one armed woman waited with her blade pointed down at the ground a few meters ahead of her and watched the beast begin to propel itself forward. From that point on everything seemed to move in slow motion as the beast bore down on her with an intensity that went unmatched by its last few attempts.

"Chaos Spike!" the raven haired woman bellowed as a spike of energy was discharged from her blade creating a giant chasm between her and the beast in a matter of seconds. The Overlord Slayer, whose single mindedness had finally become a disadvantage, was not able to bring itself to a halt and pitched forward into the pit, howling in ungodly rage and agony all the way.

"Well that's not technically sealing it away, but it should buy us some time!" Hildr exclaimed, somewhat in relief before everything went black.

"Sorry, Hildr, but there's no way that I can allow you to continue to fight that thing alone," Nero stated as he dropped a steel pipe and scooped up the unconscious young woman in his arms. "We're going to need some help and I know just the group crazy enough...though we will have to swallow our pride I suppose."

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters (as per Zero's business card) - Unknown room, August 26, 3:02 p.m., 3036 A.S.

A mind that had been floating in a sea of white noise soon found the static erased by the pulsating of visible energy within its mind's eye. This energy, it was familiar, reminiscent of someone or something, and more likely foe than friend as the waves of energy made the mind ache and throb in both irritation and stress. For a moment the energy was nondescript as the mind tried to locate the source of its ire, but, withing a few more seconds it came rolling in like waves on the shore.

'Guyin!'

--------

"Ugh," came an airy, feminine moan as darkness gave way to a dull light which, despite its relative lack of brightness, caused the person to snap their eyes shut once more and groan in irritation.  "Where am I," the young woman muttered to herself as she tried to regain her bearings and recall where she was. Once again daring to brave the light, the young woman slowly opened her eyes, allowing her eyes to adapt, and slowly took a look around the room.

The room was rather spartan, containing only a simple metal desk and chair off in one corner, and an analog clock on the way. The floors were not carpeted, but rather tiled in a gray and white checkerboard pattern, and there was no window to be found with the light coming from an overhead light in the center of the room.

"This...this doesn't look familiar," the young woman whispered to herself, for the first time noting that her voice didn't sound like she expected it to. 'That's odd...how did I expect my voice to sound?' she thought to herself with a slight frown as she attempted to lean up in her bed, and found that her entire body felt stiff and unresponsive.

"Ugh," she grunted in both pain and dissatisfaction as she attempted to move once more with all the determination and force she could muster, though she scarcely managed to push her head further up her pillow. "Alright, since I'm obviously not moving for a little while let's try to at least recall where we were last night, 'eh self?" the woman muttered to herself as she tried to recall what had occurred the night before. However, after several minutes of drawing blanks, the young woman began to worry as she attempted to recall what she had done two days before, three days before, a week ago, a month ago, and so forth and so on. Each thought met with a solid, frightening blank if not by a white noise that seemed to be followed by a splitting headache that made her nauseous and caused her mouth to go dry and ache as though she had a cavity.

Groaning due to fatigue as well as frustration, the young woman muttered to herself, "At least remember your own name." Unfortunately her attempts at that met with predictable results.

"Well this is just great, I have amnesia and not the cool, I'm going to be the hero of some epic tale stereotypical amnesia. This is my life sucks fucking balls amnesia with a "you're never going to remember shit" cherry on top," the young woman muttered bitterly to herself before gasping both at her language and her demeanor.  "That wasn't very proper for a young woman to say! What just came over me?" the young woman muttered to herself, both shocked and appalled.

"I've got to find out where I am and how I got here. Then maybe things will start to click," she decided after a moment and after her joints had felt less stiff and achy. Taking a moment to brace herself, the young woman slowly made her way off the edge of the bed and onto the cool tile floor before heading toward the door. It wasn't until she felt a bit chiller than she had under her blanket that she noticed she was stark naked.

"Epp!" she exclaimed, blushing furiously, as she made her way over to the bed as quickly as she could and grabbed the sheet before wrapping it around her nubile figure. "Alright, find clothes first, questions second," she amended as she made her way toward the door once more.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Greater Solem Metropolis Air Space; Refuelling Platform; August 25, 11:10 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Zero's cloak and the tails of his dress-coat waved in the fierce winds and rains atop the ship refueling platform in the clouds as he strode against them. His purpose in sending Galin to Boss Roy had been twofold - if the girl was telling the truth about being pursued (not that it was too terribly likely she was lying) then she stood a great chance of attracting it again while around Boss Roy - this not only gave incentive to Boss Roy to join Zero's cause, but would also gauge the power of these beasts, and involve the Clockwork Knights whether they wanted to be or not, which would attract intergalactic attention.

That aside, he had other business to attend to.

He approached a man who was standing beside one of the serving stations, ready to help the next customer who pulled into the refueling station, and held up a picture.

"Excuse me, sir," he started. "You wouldn't happen to have seen a young woman like this today, now would you?" He asked. The picture of a smiling woman with long brown hair contained with a yellow ribbon.

"Eh?" The man blinked in surprise. "You know this woman?!"

"You could say that. I am involved in an investigation in the matter, one of intergalactic importance."

"Oh really? ...but it makes sense I guess," He muttered.

"Then, you have seen her?" The formally dressed man asked.

"Yes, yes," The man said with a nod. "Though I'm surprised the local police didn't contact you. She was here earlier, seemed like she was waiting on someone," the man started, "Then, during a busy shift, this box ship pilot was getting ready to get back into his rig when she suddenly took off with it," He said.

"I see," Zero muttered.

"She can't have gone off-world with it or the Fringe Patrols would have caught her, especially since cargo ships need to go through the checkpoints," The man continued. "I know they didn't catch her because the guy she stole it from was here until a couple of hours ago, finally called a cab and left after waiting for the police to get back to him on it."

"I see. Thank you, this is very helpful information," Zero said. "I will be sure to mention your assistance to the bureau, mister..." He glanced at the worker's name tag. "... Adamson. That will be all for now, though."

"Right, right," The man said with a nod.

Zero turned with a grateful nod of his own and turned, walking away.

'Ever closer, now...'

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters (as per Zero's business card), August 26, 3:02 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The bored looking secretary immediately perked up at the mention of someone named Roy Doll.

"Roy, is it? Excuse me, just a moment, please," She said, before turning and typing something into the computer before her. The holographic display quickly went through some commands and then she turned to look at the young woman again. "I'm sorry, this may take a moment... you can sit down if you like."

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters (as per Zero's business card) - Top Floor, August 26, 3:00 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy stared out of the window of the top floor of the skyscraper that housed the privately owned security firm that he used to fund the vigilante group that he'd been forced to take over and head himself. Though only a select few of the people employed in the firm were aware of the Knights' existence in the first place, this perfectly legitimate business was great not only because its huge financial success gave the Knights the funds they needed in order to run their operations, it also gave him a legitimate reason to purchase the powerful weapons and state of the art computers the knights used in their operations.

Boss sighed as he adjusted his tie and stared out the grandiose window of his equally impressive office. Gone were the days of walking around flaunting his bathrobe and pajamas, and handing out wanton destruction at will. Ever since the command structure of the knights had fallen appart, he'd been forced to take over to ensure the organization did not vanish. Though he would have been willing to let it do so, his sense of responsibility - and boredom - had led him to taking over.

But the restrictive lifestyle of being Boss was getting boring. He just wanted to have fun, after all... perhaps it was time to step down. Being with the knights had lost its luster in recent years, since things had mostly calmed down since Tin... now Grim Planet had rejoined the galactic community.

At least, it had been, until "Zero" appeared... Vexergo had been one thing, but this guy, Xergo if he was to be believed, threatened to fill him up with some good... and bad memories. His manner of speech and dressed were just as flamboyant, and honestly, there weren't too many people who remembered Xergo, so it was likely the real deal.

'Damn, I can't quit being Boss until this guy's taken care of, can I?' He thought with a frown, before a sudden realization. '...Or -can- I?'

Then there was the sound of a chime in the background and a familiar voice spoke up.

"Boss, there's someone here to see you... specifically you." Suzu's voice reported. "We can't ID them or anything, either. Not in our databases."

"Hm? I'm not expecting anyone... but send them up anyway. This could be interesting." The man said, before turning and walking towards his desk. He ran a hand over his smooth, slicked back hair and sat down in his chair, brushing imaginary dust off of his clean business attire, then folding his hands above his desk and waiting.

'Maybe after this, I'll go check on that whoever it was I found down there...'

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters (as per Zero's business card), August 26, 3:05 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The secretary looked over at Galin.

"He'll see you now," The woman said. "His office is on the top floor. Straight down the hall from the elevator, you can't miss it."

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters (as per Zero's business card), August 26, 3:05 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin frowned as she had barely even had a chance to open the fashion magazine she'd been prepared as she waited for Roy to see her.  Certainly, it was nice to know that he was prompt enough to deal with her straight away, but she was three thousand years out of fashion in this dimension and she was interested to see if anything besides all concealing cloaks was in vogue.  With a huff, she dropped the magazine and stood up, making sure that her cloak was as concealing as possible (as was the style at the time) and did her best to appear to glide across the room and down the hallway to the elevator.

It still amazed her how different this dimension was from her home in her father's sub dimension.  Her father's unfortunate penchant for guile and subterfuge had crept subtly into every aspect of his dimension, casting it into a perpetual twilight.  Even the very air itself seemed to deaden sound, making even the most casual of conversations into hushed conspiracies.  The sleek, modern looking buildings that seemed to be the mainstay of this universe were a far cry from the gothic style which predominated her home.

She actually found herself enjoying this universe.

A few minutes later, she arrived at the top floor and the elevator doors slid open.  Moving sedately, Galin stepped forward into the room, and she took note of the oddly familiar man before her. 

"Roy, I presume?"

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters (as per Zero's business card), August 26, 3:08 p.m., 3036 A.S.

If Boss Roy was at all surprised by the appearance of the newcomer, he did not let it show.

"Indeed," The man responded as he gestured one of two chairs before his desk. "I must admit, I was surprised to hear that someone was here to see me today. I had today's schedule cleared out for special reasons," He explained. "But if you're here for me, then it's important. So I ask; to whom do I owe the pleasure of this visit, and why have you come to see me?"

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters (as per Zero's business card), August 26, 3:08 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin lowered her hood, once again allowing her hair to cascade down, and for some strange reason that couldn't be explained, suddenly made her figure much more evident beneath the folds of her cloak.

"My name is Galin Cognito.  As for why I'm here.  I need to conquer the universe, and I am going to need your assistance to do it."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters (as per Zero's business card), August 26, 3:08 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Roy blinked several times, before sighing and leaning back in his chair.

"Well, it's nice to see you too," He said. "But why the sex change?"

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Office, August 26, 3:09 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin's eye twitched . . .

Then it twitched again . . .

'Sex change?'

"Sex change?"

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters - Exterior, August 26, 3:09 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The tall, opulent building stood with silent dignity, towering over most of the buildings which surrounded it -

At least it did, until the top story of the building inexplicably exploded into a massive ball of fire, launching shattered debris and flaming office furniture flying for blocks in every direction.

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:09 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Galin daintily brushed back her mussed hair and turned to stare at Roy again.

"I'm terribly sorry.  I think you must have me confused with someone else.  I'm quite certain that we've never met before."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:09 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"Heh heh heh, no, I don't think we have," Boss said with a hearty laugh as he wiped the black soot from his somehow still immaculate black suit and skin. "But my, that was a vibrant display. I was going to say you remind me of a man I used to work with, long, long ago, but that just now was in direct opposition to his usual methods. Now you remind me of my old boss," He said. "Don't worry about the explosion, the insurance will cover it. I made sure to get the angry magical girl option, you might be surprised how often we have to deal with those."

He leaned back in his somehow miraculously still functioning chair.

"Now, as for the conquering the universe matter," He started, "Well, I'm not usually into that sort of thing. Is there some reason you want to conquer the universe?" He asked, before opening a drawer on his desk and taking out a pair of sunglasses... only for the desk to then collapse in on itself, an ember or two kicking up into small flames. The black man didn't seem bothered by it in the least, however, and put the sunglasses on before turning to gaze at her again.

[Ebony Debony]

Planet Mephistopheles; Capital City-Gilgamesh Spiral; Faustian Palace-Grand Hall; August 27, 12:03 a.m., 3036 A.S. (After Suzumiya)

The Overlord Slayer proved that, if nothing else could be said of it, it was indeed a resilient creature.  Following the scent of its foes and prey back to the palace where it was the strongest, not realizing that it was the scent of Hildr's dried blood he was actually following, the creature's teeth ground together in anticipation of having another of the young warrior's limbs between it's massive fangs once again.

Stepping, or stomping to be precise, into the decimated, moonlit ruin that was once an elegant hall of great beauty and riches, the Overlord Slayer sniffed about attempting to discern where his prey had fled while he had been preoccupied with clawing his way out of the expansive pit he had plummeted down, much to even his simple chagrin. Finding that the scent was strongest in the room he was currently in, the hulking monstrosity scanned the room with it's undead eyes, absorbing every detail within seconds before its eyes fell on a bizarre, inky portal seemingly hanging in space.  Sniffing incredulously, the beast slowly meandered toward the anachronistic void that would have been better suited appearing in his own timeless dimension of hell than within the ruins of a palace.

Stepping ever closer the beast could sense a malevolent aura radiating from the void, but paid it no mind as, with only the single mindedness a creature created solely for death and destruction could possess, it pressed forward assured by its own remarkable power. Even so, there was a sinking feeling within the bowls of the rotted carcass it called body that, on an unconscious level, made it unsure if it really was more powerful then the malevolent energy flowing from the inky void before it.

The beast's question was soon answered as black tentacles of malevolent energy exploded from the void with the ferocity and fervency of a savage beast.  The Overlord Slayer had scarcely the time to grunt in surprise before the tentacles gripped it's massive limbs with enough constrictive force to bring the mighty beast to it's knees howling an ungodly howl of rage and frustration at its own powerlessness. It didn't take long for the dark being to consume limb upon limb and then engulf the creature's torso and entire cranium as the beast continued to thrash in futility against its superior captor.

It was over in seconds as the inky, black substance finally won out against its struggling captive, who could scarcely twitch.  However, the void being had won the battle, not the war. Despite its superior power, the one aspect of the creature that the void could not defeat was its godly regeneration ability.  Even as the beinig tried to feed, every section of rotted flesh was replaced by another, and then another, and then another. Eyes were replaced by new eyes, whole arms were replaced in seconds, and so forth. It seemed as though the void being had found itself caught in a stalemate with a creature that refused to be consumed in part, let alone in whole. That left one option available to the malevolent, and eternal famished being.

The Overlord Slayer would become it's puppet...

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Storage Room, August 26, 3:09 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"What the heck was that?!" a familiar white haired young woman exclaimed, her eyes wide, as the roof above her head, the floor at her feet, and the piles of boxes and bags around her shook rather violently. The sheer force of whatever it was had almost caused her to topple over, which would have been troublesome considering her aching joints. Quickly reviewing her clothing options, the young woman opted for a tattered white cloak, a black blazer-skirt combo, a red tie, and a black beret with a cursive "S" embroidered on it in red. She didn't know why she felt the urge to grab the beret, after all something within her made her half gag at the idea of wearing it, but she knew that it annoyed someone and that, for some reason, made her want to parade around in it.

Reviewing a few raggedy tags she had found attached to the clothing, the young woman frowned slightly as she read them over. "Property of Shelly?"

"Now why does that sound so familiar?" the young woman muttered to herself, her frown deepening as a look of extreme concentration started to form on her features. Prying as deeply as she could, the young woman fought past the initial urge to give up, brought on by the frustrating blanks that continued to bombard her senses, but was eventually forced to resign herself to never knowing once the painful white noise and snow vision gave her a headache.

"Whatever, it looks like she hasn't worn this stuff in centuries, so I'm sure she won't mind if I borrow it," the fair skinned woman said to herself with a slight smiled, feeling much more comfortable now that she was adequately dressed. Giggling to herself once more in satisfaction, the young woman then threw up the hood of her cloak and, as stealthily as she could with her sore limbs, made her way out of the dimly lit storage room. Quietly closing the door behind her, the nameless woman made her way down a hallway, making sure to press her back against the walls at corners while peeking to make sure no one was coming, before heading toward what she had hoped would be an exit.

After a few minutes she had managed to make her way to a rather large, metallic, sliding door and paused for a moment to consider what she would do next. While she was fortunate that no one seemed to be roaming the halls, something told her that her good luck was due to run out at any moment. Did she really wish to take a chance and walk into a room that might house whoever had brought her to the strange building...naked?

A cold chill ran down the young woman's spine as he mouth went dry and her eyes bugged out of her skull.  She hadn't given it much thought until that moment, but now that she thought about it why had she been naked in a foreign room? And why couldn't she remember anything? And, most importantly, why did her body ache all over?

With no one there to help her piece the puzzles together, the albino young woman came to one horrifying conclusion.  She had been drugged, raped, and was now being held hostage or, much worse, she was trapped within the lair of an insidious man who planned to keep her as his sex slave!

Looking down at her clothes the young woman felt the urge to vomit as bile rose in her throat. Now it all made sense, the clothes in the room, the spartan like accommodations, and the lack of anyone present...she was stuck in an abandoned building where the fiend had housed his victims and, when he was done with them, killed them. Shelly, that poor, poor soul, was likely one of his victims, and now she was wearing her clothes.  It made the young woman want to gag or throw up what little was in her stomach, but she suppressed the urge and steeled her resolve.

There was no way she was going to lay down like some kind of meek lamb and end up the prey of such an insidious deviant.  Balling up her fist and taking a few deep breaths, the young woman glared at the door before her and nodded resolutely.

"ALRIGHT YOU BASTARD! HERE I COME!" she bellowed as she stormed through the sliding doors, her arm cocked back and ready to strike,...only to find herself abruptly cut short as she practically doubled over herself in shock.

Eyes wide and mouth agape, the young woman could only blush furiously as bewildered faces fell upon her, a few with eyebrows cocked and chuckling humorously at her obvious chagrin.

The nameless young woman had stormed into some kind of full operated command center.

"Oh...this is definitely something I'd like to forget," she deadpanned to herself, her face an emotionless mask though she was still blushing as red as a tomato.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Command Center, August 26, 3:09 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"Hmm?" Suzu looked down over at the woman who'd appeared from out of the storage room. "Oh, it's that broad the Boss found exploding his antique command ships," She said cheerfully. She snapped her finger and suddenly everyone in the room was pointing a large gun of some sort at the woman. "Care to explain what you were doing down there, little missy?"

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Command Center, August 26, 3:10 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Seeing the tens of, possibly hundreds of, guns leveled at her head, the nameless woman chuckled sheepishly in response to the woman's question. "Hehe, well, you see, the thing is...uh...you wouldn't happen to know where I am...would you?" she squeaked in a mousy voice, as she shot a beseeching look at the woman as a silent plea for her to get everyone to direct their guns, with their laser points focused directly on the center of her head, away from her person.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:10 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin sighed, now wishing she hadn't vaporized most of the furniture in the room, as she really wanted to sit down now.

"Not for the reason you're likely thinking, I assure you.  Though you've probably never heard of him, my father is a dimensional Overlord named Guyin.  For the past three thousand years or so he's been he's been running his dimension is relative peace (annoying, intrigue for the sake of intrigue filled peace, but peace nonetheless).  However, recently, while expanding his realm . . . someone stumbled across . . . something.  Whatever it was, it had been bound by an unimaginably powerful seal, trapped within a subdimension isolated from any other dimension - at least it had been, until Guyin's own, isolated sub dimension was created."

The cloaked redhead reluctantly leaned against one of the soot covered columns that remained standing in the shattered remains of the penthouse.  Well, it wasn't like her cloak wasn't already ruined anyway.

"Despite the ridiculous power of the seal trapping the entity, it took very little effort on the part of the . . . unknown party . . . to unravel the ward, as the entity had been pushing the seal to the very brink of its power from its very inception.  Now, the creature is free and rampaging through my father's dimension.  Despite his Overlord status, granting him absolute control of his dimension, it is all that he can do to contain the entity and prevent it from sweeping across this prime dimension."

Galin offered a pointed look to Roy.  "It is just a matter of time before it escapes, and we have only two hopes.  The first, and most unlikely, is to find my mother, and the others of her ilk, the True Gods which might actually have the power to battle this creature on even terms.  If not that, our only other hope is to unite the entire universe under one flag.  Only if all of the peoples in the universe can act as one, can react as one, and can share their power equally across all, will we stand a chance.  If the universe remains divided, it will surely fall."

With her piece finally said, Galin looked out the remains of one of the large windows, gazing across the skyline.

"So, what do you say?  Will you help me?"

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Command Center, August 26, 3:10 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"You're in Grim City," The pink haired teen said with a bright smile. "Now, who are you, and what were you doing down there?"

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:14 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"So this is one of those times where curiosity bit back, hmm?" Roy asked. "I wonder how that poor unknown party must feel. Shattering the peace of someone else's dimension. I'd imagine it'd suck to know you caused the end of the world," He said, looking up. "And if some jerk did this to my own private dimension, I'd let him have what for, you know? Too bad we can't find the ass that did this and give him or her a right beating," He said with a heavy sigh. "Anyway. I may indeed know this Guyin fellow you speak of, if he's the same guy I'm thinking of. And as for True Gods... I don't think the one I know would be allowed to manifest in this plane, so it looks like we're going to have to go with the other option."  He shook his head. "But, conquering the universe? Are you sure there's no other way? Doesn't that sound a bit extreme? There should be some other way to do this."

He turned his head and looked out the same window she was - just in time to see the large, majestic flagship of the Lynadienna System descending from the thick clouds in the distance. The Lynadienna System was a planetary system near Grim and one of many that had been at war with Grim, and several other systems and alliances or empires over the past few decades over planetary ownership disputes, philosophical disagreement, and plain old dislike.

"Ahh, that's right, they're finally starting the whole peace talk thing," Boss mused. "See? Why conquer the world when people are clearly capable of settling differences and working together?" He asked, as he turned to look out at her. "They even chose to commemorate it by doing it on the night of the double new moon, a night that only happens once every two hundred and seventy six years on Grim..."

Boss blinked and frowned.

'New... moon...?' He turned and looked up at the clouded sky. 'That's right... there was one other who wanted to conquer the world... and he was expecting an answer today...'

Boss's eyes suddenly widened.

'Don't tell me...!'

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim, August 26, 3:16 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Zero smiled from under the police visor as he stood with one other in uniform. The two were standing outside the main entrance to the hall, which was to be the meeting place of the galactic leaders, and watching as a limousine pulled up on the street.

"I can't believe the wars' finally coming to an end," The other officer said, looking at him. "It's been going for as long as I've been alive. Seems strange, no?"

"Oh, believe me, this is only the beginning," Zero said with a chuckle as he watched Princess Grim step out of her limousine, clad in an elegant, flowing dress with large ruffles that bounced as she moved. "Tonight will be the start of something beautiful, my friend."

He chuckled again and narrowed his eyes in a dark smile beneath his helmet.

'Oh yes... something very beautiful indeed...'

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Command Center, August 26, 3:11 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The nameless young woman frowned slightly at the pink haired teen's question and furrowed her brow in deep concentration. Though she knew it would likely be a futile effort she too wished to recall her own name at the very least.

"Uh..." she began, her face showing visible strain as she concentrated harder and harder trying to fight through blank after seemingly inevitable blank. And then the white noise started to filter through her senses and her vision started to turn snowy and static. "Damn it!" she hissed under her breath, clutching her aching head and trying to ignore the beads of sweat that had started to form across her pale brow. Realizing that she had been silent for far too long, the young woman threw any name she possibly could at the teen.

"My name is Shelly!" she exclaimed with a weak smile, "And as for what I'm doing here...well I honestly don't even know how I got here." Then she remember something that the young girl had stated a few seconds ago. "Did you say your boss found me destroying antique command ships?!" she exclaimed in horror, her eyes wide with disbelief.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:14 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin's eye twitched again.  For a moment, she contemplated murder, but she was far from fully recovered, and if Zero had actually sent her to this wastrel, then he was likely more powerful than his appearance would indicate.  So, taking a deep breath, she centered herself, wondering why he was staring at the massive ship in the distance.

"Apparently you've never heard of the United Nations.  Peace between civilizations isn't actual cooperation, it's several hundred disparate voices all vying for their own best interest.  Unless we actually unite everyone under one flag, under one leader actually capable of commanding everyone, then our coalition would tear itself apart as every faction would place themselves ahead of everyone else, either protecting only themselves, or positioning themselves for advantage over 'allies' who were ancient rivals mere months before."

A sense of intrigue filled her as she stared at the ship.  It was in her nature to know when a plot was afoot.  Slowly, a smile spread across her lips.

"Besides, peace is so very, very fragile.  All it takes is the tiniest spark, and the flames of war can be reignited once more."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:15 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss turned to look at the girl and snorted.

"Hmph. Kids your age shouldn't be thinking like that, but whatever. I figured it was worth a shot." He turned to face her. "To be honest, I normally wouldn't give a damn about someone's private dimension caving in on them, even Guyin, but we're talking about the prime dimension too, now." He said. "Hmph. Conquer the universe... pure foolishness. Do you realize how many people are going to die in that process? People fighting for their right to be their own, rather than someone else's lap dog. I certainly can't do it." He shook his head."

"You say you want to gather the power of all the people in the universe so that we can have a fighting chance against this thing, but what's the point if that power drops by half by the time we're done? The Overlords - whom your forebear is technically counted amongst - petty and annoying as they are, will certainly not do it, not until they get a taste of this enemy's power - and even still - and they themselves represent a great fraction of the universe's collected power. There will also always be infighting - you mention people trying to place themselves in positions over others, but that sort of competition happens within organizations, too. You would need someone whose absolute ability to rule would be unquestionable, someone capable of being recognized by all as the person they would naturally want to follow. And that someone would have to be capable of managing the entire univese, capable of controlling every single sentient being with an iron fist, and a will of steel."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Does a young girl like you consider herself such?"

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim, August 26, 3:16 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Zero knelt along with the other soldiers of a squad as the Grim Princess made her way up the stairs towards them, paparazzi madly flashing their cameras at her in the background while soldiers police held them off. When she made it up to them, Zero, having taken the position of the squad leader, spoke.

"Your majesty, we are Squad 00 under the Solemn Knight, Errain Duval the Fourth. We will be serving as your personal security tonight for reasons of intergalactic significance."

The princess nodded.

"Yes, I was informed of this by my father," She said with a grand smile. "A small, informal group like this to show the new bonds of trust between our nations, was it?"

Zero nodded.

"Indeed.  Though our purpose is only to serve as a token force, I only pray we prove useful to your highness. If you require anything, you need only ask." The young lady he spoke to blushed.

"I will keep that in mind." She said.

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Command Center, August 26, 3:11 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"Hmm," Suzu gave the girl an exasperated look. "You must have hit your head when you were exploding stuff," She said, before shaking her head and sighing in annoyance. "I can't deal with this." She turned and faced one of the men seated at a station on the raised platform that she was standing in the center of. "Can you get the Boss on here?" She asked, gesturing the huge display screen.

"Right away," The man said. He typed into the computer for a moment, but then stopped. "Uh... it seems the feed to Boss's penthouse suite has... died."

"Again?!" Suzu demanded. "Wait a minute... there was a person to see him, wasn't there?" she asked. "Do we have any footage of this person? If it was that Magical Heart Beam girl again..." the pink haired teen growled, gritting her teeth.

"Ah, yes, it seems we have some imagery taken when they were at the desk, and right after they entered Boss's room."

"Let's see it," Suzu said while the man continued typing into his station.

"Already on it." With one final key stroke, a large image of a cloaked figure showed up on the screen before them all. The picture revealed Boss's penthouse suite as it was before the explosion. Standing before Boss's desk was a figure draped in an old, ratty looking cloak, but it was from an angle behind them. Boss Roy's face could be seen clearly, and the feed read 03:08:12:397

"Let's see their face," Suzu said.

The angle changed and they were able to see the front of the cloaked person, but this did not reveal their identity, as their face was seemingly smothered within darkness.

"Huh. Is there more than that?"

"The data after that's been damaged," The man said with a shake of his head.

Suzu frowned.

"That person does not look like a magical girl. Is Boss okay..?" She turned to look at the person he'd captured. "Hey, what'd you say your name was?"

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:16 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin shook her head sadly. 

"This universe has been at relative peace for thousands of years.  It has grown decadent, weak, soft.  A galactic war would not only unite everyone under one flag, it would forge the universe for the battle to come.  The chaff would be cut from the wheat, new powers and technologies would be discovered and developed and people would garner the precious experience and strength of will necessary to fight.  True, we might lose half of the people of the universe, but that remaining half would be stronger than the whole of the universe that stood before.  And if we can save half of the universe with war, rather than lose it all while 'allies' squabbled endlessly at a bargaining table, too selfish or cowardly to do what is necessary, then it is a price I am willing to pay."

A sad sigh escaped her lips.  "The overlords are a lost cause, as most of them are barred from even entering this dimension.  The true gods, no one knows where they lurk now.  But there are still beings of great power in residence in this dimension."  She pierced him with a serious look.  "You ask if I am such a person?  I am not, but I have met one who is.  One that has the ambition, the power, and the will to bring the universe together.  I was drawn to this world by his power and I have spoken to him already."

"Zero is the way of the future."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:17 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss glared at her.

"Zero?" He immediately stood up. "What do you know of Zero, girl?" He said. "Three thousand years ago, he took control of, and built up a large fleet comprised of several galactic armies. He had everyone eating out of his hands. He convinced them he was their god." He turned away and looked outside. "Then, in the final battle against the Clockwork Knights, he walked away. He left the helm of command to stand back and watch what he'd built up collapse upon itself for no more than his own entertainment." He turned to look at her. "You are talking about someone capable of using people, and then throwing them away like used rags. I stood against his forces years ago under the command of Suzumiya Haruhi, the then leader of the Clockwork Knights, and in her memory, and because I cannot trust him, I will have nothing to do with him."

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim; Back hallways, August 26, 3:17 p.m., 3036 A.S.

As the princess walked into the grand hall, Zero made sure to walk close to her.

"My highness," He started in a low voice. "Though tonight's conference will be assuredly successful, some unsavory parties may attempt to make use of this event. I know his majesty the emperor said that the 00 Squad is to serve as a token force, but I will remain within arm's reach at all times for your majesty's safety."

"Ah... Thank you," the young lady said in response.

"It is my honored duty, princess. Think nothing of it."

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Command Center, August 26, 3:14 p.m., 3036 A.S.

If the green haired teen had said anything else after bringing up a feed displaying an individual shrouded in a tattered cloak "Shelly" hadn't heard it. In fact, the only thing "Shelly" could hear at the moment was a voice that kept blaring in her head which explicitly screamed for blood.

'Guyin Fuckin' Cognito! That bastard!!!'

This thought alone would have been enough to disturb the amnesic girl had her consciousness still been her own.  However, a familiar set of violet eyes had taken the place of chocolate brown and her hair, once stark white, had shifted to a light lavender in colour.

"I'll kill him!" the young woman bellowed at the top of her lungs, her face contorted into look of absolute rage and hatred, as her violet eyes exude a dark violet energy that seemed to burn the very air around her. Ignoring the guns now cocked and ready to fire at a moment's notice, the young woman looked straight up and, with a malicious smirk, disappeared from the room in the blink of an eye.

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:18 p.m., 3036 A.S.  

"Guyin Cognito because of you I have been through hell! In the name of myself, Overlord Cookies, prepare to die!!!" the lavender haired girl bellowed as she abruptly appeared within the ruins of Roy's former office with a swirling vortex of barely restrained violet and seemingly acidic black energy forming a tight sphere around her body.  However, that energy abruptly died without fanfare when she noticed that something strange had happened to her ex-coworker/rival and blinked curiously at him.

"Uh...hey...did you get a sex change or something?" Cookies inquired, her eyes still smoldering slightly, as she scratched her head in confusion.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Command Center, August 26, 3:14 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"Oh, I managed to get another shot-" The man working the computer started, his finger hovering over the confirm key.

"I'll kill him!"

Everyone in the room immediately looked over to see what's-her-face vanish, as the man pressed the key, bringing up a shot of the cloaked figure, but after they'd removed the hood, revealing a feminine face.

Immediately Suzu was in motion, as was the rest of the command center.

"Move, people, move! Code G1! Maintain the auto spatial-stabilizing and anti-chronos fields! I don't want anything teleporting within a five mile radius of this building! And stop the elevators!" It was thanks to an incredibly expensive state of the art security system that constantly monitored the entire building, automatically enabling an equally impressive spatial stabilizer - designed, built, and enchanted by the Boss himself - to prevent spatial warping of any sort of any whenever an unauthorized party did so within the building, that their 'prisoner' would have to run most of the way up to Boss's room.

The pink haired teen turned and gestured towards a group of people.

"Squad D, with me! We're gonna back the Boss up!" She said, running to the command 'throne' in the center of her platform. She reached under it and pulled out a gun that was twice her height and width, then leapt down from the platform and started running for a stairwell, a squad of soldiers with their own unique weapons behind her.

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:18 p.m., 3036 A.S.  

Boss snorted and looked over at Cookies. There was absolutely no hint of surprise on his face.

"This one's not Guyin. She's far too green. So much blind faith in someone she can't have known for more than a few minutes." He blinked and frowned again. "And are you really one to talk? How many times have you changed your own sex? What about that time where the cloning machine screwed up and you ended up being... well..."

And then Suzu and the rest of her team burst onto the scene through what used to be a working door. The door flew off to the side in several pieces and the remains of the wall with it.

"Sorry Boss, she warped on us! Are you okay?" The pink haired teen shouted out, mounting her weapon of mass destruction on her shoulder.

"I'm fine," Boss said, looking over at Cookies again. "And so will Cookies be if he... she stands down."

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:19 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Little did Boss Roy know that Cookies' consciousness had once again been suppressed by the will of the body's other occupant as soon as he said the cloaked figure wasn't Guyin.  However, one couldn't blame him for not noticing in part because there were no obvious physical changes to the girl appearance, aside from the fact that her eyes had shifted from violet to chocolate brown once more.

"Cookies?" the fair skinned girl inquired as she brought a finger to her lip curiously and frowned slightly in confusion. "I'm sorry, but are you talking to me? And why are all those guns pointed at me again? And why am I standing in a pile of ash in a room that should have long since collapsed on its occupants?"

Then, after a brief pause, she said with a warm smile, "And I'd be happy to stand down, but right now I only know how to stand up. Could you show me how it's done? Does one hunch oneself over like this?" The amnesiac girl then proceeded to crouch down into a squat with a hopeful smile on her face waiting for Boss Roy's approval.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:18 p.m., 3036 A.S.  

Galin stamped her foot impetuously at everyone's insulting comments.

"Why is everyone saying I had a sex change!?"  Only to point  an elegant finger at Roy furiously.  "And who are you calling green?  I'm the daughter of the most powerful woman and the most devious man in the entire universe (parallel and subdimensions inclusive), and I can plot universal domination with the best of them!"

She then glanced at the energy spewing, violet eyed girl to their side, quickly discounting her as being less mature looking and less attractive than herself.  "Hmmph, and that's the infamous 'Cookies'?  Looks like my dad was right, s/he really is just a suped up magical girl.  Look, lady, I don't take any responsibility for my dad, but if you're really that desperate to talk to him, why don't you go visit his sub dimension yourself?  Heck, I'll even tell you how to get there if you really want."

She then turned back to Roy.  "And I never said I had faith in Zero, I just said that he's the only one capable of doing what needs to be done.  Cookies here is obviously a rogue Overlord, so if she were to actually try to use her full power in this dimension, the rest of the Council would drop on her like a hammer in seconds.  The only way for her to remain here safely is to hide her presence as much as possible, even this little display of pique was probably pushing her luck."

A sly smile grew on her lips as she regarded Roy.  "Besides, if you know Zero so well yourself, then who better to do what is needed?  Would you rather have someone that will hold onto the reigns of power and never let go, or one that gets bored once the deed is done and leaves?  In the latter case, things can return to normal much more quickly than with the former."

The redhead contained her sigh, really wishing she could murder someone over all those sex change comments, but it was overly obvious that she was outclassed at the moment.

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:19 p.m., 3036 A.S.

After considering protesting everyone calling her Cookies for a moment, the nameless girl decided it was just as good a name as any, despite the violent twitching of her feline left eye whenever someone mentioned the name, if everyone wanted to call her that and shrugged in indifference. "Hey, Miss Angry Lady, while I may not know very much I've got to say that what you said makes no sense.  If your father is the most devious man in the universe (parallel and sub-dimensions inclusive) then why don't you get him to take over the universe? He'd probably be better at it then two people who I assume or either megalomaniacal or down right flippant," the lavender haired girl offered with a slight smile before adding, "And I'm a little confused...why would I want to meet your father again? Wait! Don't tell me! He makes the best cookies ever, right!!!"

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:19 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin regarded the violet eyed - wait a moment, the brown eyed girl?  The redhead focused beyond the facade of the girl, on to give an impressed 'hmm'.  "Well, it looks like I was right, Cookies is very good at hiding her presence.  If I didn't know better, this shell likely isn't even aware that they're just a vessel for something more."

Then, pasting a wide smile on her face she walked up and dropped a reassuring hand on the younger looking girl's shoulder and began to speak slowly.  "Hello, my name is Galin.  It's very nice to meet you.  What is your name?"

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:19 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Not sure whether to be angry or not at the cloaked woman's condescending tone, Cookies chose the path of least resistance and simply smiled warmly in response.  "Hello Galin, it's nice to meet you (even though I can tell that you think you're prettier than me and you're sooo not, so get over yourself). I don't remember my name, but since everyone seems to insist on calling me Cookies I suppose that can be it," the lavender haired girl stated, her left eye twitching violently once more when she dared to utter "Cookies" aloud.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:19 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Suzu just stared at the two, then looked over at Boss.

"You guys can go back," Boss said. "If anything happened now, anyway, I'd rather have you guys evacuate the building... if not city," He said.

"Ah... right, boss," Suzu said, before glancing over at the pair again. 'Hmm...' She frowned at the young lady wearing a cloak. 'Something about her... it's probably just me,' She shook her head and turned around, looking at her group. "All right then, we're out of here, boys," She said, leading them away.

Roy Doll then turned and grinned while looking at Galin.

"So, daughter of the most powerful woman and most devious man in the entire universe?" He chuckled. "I wouldn't be so sure of the 'most powerful mother' bit, but perhaps it would be fair for you to say that you did indeed descend from the most devious man. That aside, if you can plot with the best of them, why not do it yourself? Don't tell me; you're too lazy?"

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:20 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Even as she replied to Roy, Galin glanced at Cookies out of the corner of her eye; the taller, redheaded girl subconsciously pushed out her chest, making it abundantly clear that she was far more mature than the young violet haired lolicon.

"I could . . . I mean, I'm pretty sure I could - I haven't picked up all of my father's tricks yet, but I've had a few thousand years to catch up to him, how much more devious than me could he possibly be?  The problem, though, is time.  There's no telling how much time we have before the entity finally breaks into the dimension.  I don't have time to come up with some elaborate plot to bring everyone together, so using force is just the most expedient method.  And I'm still recovering from escaping into this dimension, so I don't have the power to do it myself.  And besides, Zero already seems to be well on his way to conquering everything as it is, so why reinvent the wheel here, when I can just jump on board with him and get things done that much quicker?"

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:20 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Cookies shot a subtle glare at the redhead and looked down at her own underdeveloped bosom with a slight, mournful sigh escaping past her lips. 'Damn...I wish I had tits too, people are definitely going to think I'm a loli with these little bee stings. Maybe Galin will tell me who did her surgery. After all, there's no way those things are natural,' the lavender haired girl thought to herself as she looked up toward Galin with an deviouis look on her face. However, deeming that the current conversation was much too serious to joke around at the moment, she decided to ask her question later.

"Hey, I've got an idea.  Why not simply hold all the planets hostage by remotely manipulating their defense systems and turning them against the population?" Cookies interjected with a smile before she thought her idea over for a moment and frowned slightly.  "Although there might be a problem finding someone with enough technological prowess and experience who can actually do something like that."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:20 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"Yes, let's give them a reason to kill us as well as the otherworldly terror," Roy said with a roll of his eyes. "Then again, lots of people want us dead anyway, probably all of us," He said, looking between Galin and Cookies. "Hmm..."

Boss sighed and shrugged.

"You know what? I'm gonna let you guys do whatever you want." He looked over at Galin. "You want to work with Zero? Fine, don't let me stop you. You can go ahead and try and conquer the universe. I'll do my own thing, but don't ever expect me to work with him if it can be helped." He turned and looked outside. "There's something I've been meaning to do for a while anyway. The hero thing does get boring after a while." He turned and looked over at Cookies. "Cookies, I am hereby reinstating you as... hmm... actually, you'd be best as a new trainee. Since you seem to have a split personality or something for now, I'm gonna say you should go ahead and find that pink haired girl that was just here and tell her what I've said. Other than that..." He turned and looked at Galin.

"What is it that he sent you here for? To get my help, so that he could gain access to the Knights? Fine, whatever. The knights can work with you whenever they see fit. As of now, I am resigning from the position of the commander, so I won't have anything to do with it." With that, the black man turned and started walking towards the shattered window. "Oh yeah, as for your mother? You'd probably be better off not bothering for now. What you'd find, if anything... wouldn't be complete."

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Clock Work Knight Headquarters, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:20 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Cookies simply shrugged in indifference at Boss's words as she stood up from her crouch and yawned deeply, seemingly bored.  Snapping her lips in satisfaction with a dreamy look on her face she said, "Well if that's how you feel I guess I'll go now."  With that the lavender haired girl bounded out of Roy's former office without another word and went to find the pink haired girl. Or at least she would have...

"Overlord Cookies you are under arrest by the order of the Overlord Council!  Surrender now and no harm will come to you!  Resist and we will be forced to take martial action against you!" bellowed a deep, masculine voice from just outside the remnants of Boss's office.

Immediately whipping around, part of her recognizing the voice that had called her name, Cookies was greeted by a sight that the whole of her could agree was not good in the slightest.  Before her, hovering outside the window seemingly by nothing more than a miracle, was a group of oddly dressed men and women.  Donning what appeared to be red, blue, green, violet, and  yellow power suits of a bulky, archaic design the group of five was slightly more humorous then they were intimidating. However, every square inch of Cookies' body knew they were trouble, big time trouble.

"These guys...although I don't remember them there's something that tells me I'm in a whole lot of trouble," the lavender haired girl muttered to herself as she frowned at the faces she saw before her. The Red Justice Ranger was a handsome man with chiseled features and blonde hair indicated by the few strands that escaped from his helmet.  The Violet Justice Ranger was not quite as handsome as his associate, but the thick coke bottle glasses he wore, as well as the fact that he was rapidly typing at a wrist based computer made it pretty clear that he was a technological wizard. The Green and Yellow Rangers appeared to be twins, both being female with jet black hair that spilled out slightly from within their helmets and framed their cherubic faces which were nearly identical.  The Blue Ranger was hidden behind a mask of metal or what could have possibly have been his face if he was an android, either way, however, the red scope at the center of his metallic face was a bit unsettling.

"So will you stand down Cookies? Or will the Technicolor Justice Rangers have to bring you to justice the hard way? Hmmmmmm!?" the Red Justice Ranger, who floated in the center of the diamond formation the group was currently formed in, inquired as he cocked his head to the side and smiled viciously at the young woman.  However, before Cookies could respond to his question, the man was tapped on the shoulder by a person in a violet battle suit who appeared to found some interesting data on his wrist computer.

"Boss, this is crazy, but I'm picking up Vulpine's energy signature from that girl!" the Violet Ranger exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

"Guh whuuuuuuut?!" the Red Ranger exclaimed in shock as he looked between his nodding partner and the now slightly puzzled Cookies, who was scratching the side of her head once again as she cocked an eyebrow at him.  "B-b-but that's impossible! The council side that his vital signs dropped off the map last night!" the Ranger declared aloud indignantly.

"Sir, with respect, the computer doesn't lie," the Violet Ranger stated simply as he showed the screen to his superior who gasped before nodding slowly and chuckling a dark, deep chuckle.

"Two for the price of one is it? Well if today isn't my lucky I don't know what it is," the Red Ranger stated with a haughty, boisterous laugh that was like nails on a chalkboard to Cookies' ears.  "Heh, so I see that you didn't exactly fail in your mission, old friend, but managed to screw up even more than that!" the man declared as Cookies shot an annoyed glare at him.

"Um, Mister, I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't even know why you're here, so, if you would be so kind, at least explain to me why I'm under arrest?" Cookies inquired with a thoroughly putout expression on her face before puffing her cheeks out in frustration when she was completely ignored.

"Bwahahahaha! While it would be ironic for me to kill you in the body of the woman who killed your father, W-Vulpine, I'll have more pity on you than that. I'll let you die a man, old friend!" the Red Ranger bellowed with a malicious smile on his face as he leveled an arm cannon reminiscent of Megaman, which until that point had been hidden under his armpit, at Cookies.

Cookies' eyes immediately went wide as she started to slowly back away while waving her arms in front of her person. "Hey! Just what do you think you're doing, psycho?! Don't point that thing at me! I haven't even done anything!!!" she cried, but it was too late.  Before she could even get her scattered wits about her, Cookies received a high velocity needle straight in her chest which sent her hurtling back before slamming onto the ground with an audible, painful thud.

The effects of the contents within the needle were almost immediate as, much to Cookies' horror, she could feel her body start to shift as it adopted a more masculine quality. All in all the transition only took about five seconds as only a few things actually changed, but those five seconds were five seconds of absolute agony for the once woman now man who ached all over...again.

"Oh, that's definitely going to leave a mark," Cookies muttered under his breath as he shot a withering glare at the Red Ranger.  "Look, I still don't know who you are, or why you're harassing me, but seriously what you just did? So not cool. It's bad enough I can't remember my own name, but you make this kinda stuff even worse with all this sex changing crap," the lavender haired man muttered as he slowly pushed himself to his shaky feet and looked over at Galin with a weary smirk.

"Well, it looks like you're not the only whose undergone a sex change, huh?"

"Enough!" the Red Ranger bellowed, rudely interrupting Cookies as he pointed his arm cannon at Boss Roy and then at Galin Cognito, "You two as well are under arrest by the order of the Overlord Council.  Boss Roy, we demand that you handover all information accumulated by the Clockwork Knights as well as command of this base of operations and come with us for your association with and general aid of the offender Overlord Cookies. Galin, your father, though one of the most intelligent Overlords to grace the universe, is also one of the most wanted for his egregious acts of destruction and violence, no matter how logical they may have been at the time.  For this reason we will hold you in custody until the Council is informed of his whereabouts."

"In the name of Justice please come quietly!" the Rangers declared in unison as the rest leveled their arm cannons at the trio as well.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:30 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss blinked and looked from the Red Ranger to Galin before shrugging, and then back at the Technicolor Justice Rangers.

"While the Overlord Council has no authority over me or Galin since neither of us are overlords, as I'm not in any way connected to the Clockwork Knights, I'm afraid I can't really do anything that you've asked me to do anyway. And you are mistaken if you believe this is where the Clockwork Knights operate; this is the headquarters of a simple security firm and nothing more."

Boss walked over to his crumbled desk and rummaged around in its remains before pulling out a large sword, still clad in its elegant scabbard.

"I would appreciate it if you fine gents would remove yourselves from the premises as trespassing and threatening to hold some poor sap's innocent daughter hostage until her father, who is currently busy having tea with Cthulhu and the Elder Gods in his own dimension, is found, is an injustice I will not tolerate for very long." He looked at the red one specifically. "You have ten seconds to do so before I inform the local police of your actions. If you attempt to become violent, then rest assured I will respond in kind."

As he said this, he unsheathed his blade just a tad, and a malevolent red glow consumed the whole floor as Abbysion's unsatiable thirst for blood made itself known.

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:31 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The Red Ranger cocked an eyebrow, not once moving his arm cannon away from aiming at the center of Boss Roy's forehead, and motioned the Violet Ranger over to his side with his head.

Violet immediately responded, making sure to keep his cannon trained on the targets, and floated over beside his superior with a questioning expression on his face.  "What is it, sir?"

"Violet...is it true that the Overlord Council has no authority over these individuals?" the blond inquired with a hint of skepticism lacing his tone as he shot a lukewarm glare at the black man before him.

Violet nodded in understanding and replied, "While normally, yes, the Overlord Council's dominion wouldn't extend to the Prime Dimension, in cases of universal security, as outlined in the Codes of Convention Beta Omega Zero Zero Niner, the Overlord Council, with the permission of the governing bodies of the planet, may take action against select individuals.  As Overlord Cookies is currently classified as an Alpha offender, and is thereby considered a threat to the stability and peace of the universe, and as we have received permission by the governing bodies of Grim Plant to apprehend him and all those who we believe to be in cahoots with him, it is safe to assume that we are within the guidelines.  Well, that is aside from your threat to arrest Galin. Sorry, commander, no brownie points there. We've got nothing linking her to Cookies other than her wayward father."

After Violet's exhaustive speech the Red Ranger smiled smirked maliciously at Boss Roy as he sized the black man up for a moment. "Heh, well, Roy Doll, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but as you've just heard, your association with Cookies, even if it was passing, is enough for us to place you as an associate and therefore capable of being apprehended."  Then, shrugging indifferently, the commander continued saying, "As it concerns the Clockwork Knights that's fine. We'll find the base of operations sooner or later. And we'll also leave the premises...just as soon as you and Cookies come with us."

Taking a moment to look over toward Galin, the Red Ranger smiled faux apologetically and shrugged once more. "Sorry for the threat ma'am, I guess you're free to go about your business. Though I do suggest you clear out as soon as possible. After brandishing his sword and a Council Agent, Boss Roy has forced our hand. If he doesn't stand down we'll be forced to take martial action against him. And knowing some vague information on the sword he's wielding, it's safe to assume that this could get messy."

Meanwhile Cookies had long since fallen asleep standing up out of sheer boredom as well as fatigue.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:31 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Roy Doll simply smiled.

And then seemed to vanish, appearing behind the red technicolor ranger - of course, this was because of his incredible speed, rather than any method of teleportation. Before his appearance was even complete, his blade was out, and carving through the ranger's helmet and cranium, then the rest of his body, in a zig-zagging blur.

"Oh dear," He started with a sigh. "Your ten seconds ended quite a while ago. If I were Zero or Guyin, then I'd have tried to outsmart you or find a loophole for the heck of it, but I'm neither. As for the overlord council, like I said, there's a problem I've been meaning to deal with for a long time now." He said with a smirk. "If they're going to make such a bold move as to 'subtly' give you 'legitimate' reason to arrest me, then there's no need for me to play by their rules anymore." He looked over at Cookies. "What are you waiting for, anyway? Go find that girl already, you sex-changing freak."

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:32 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin shrugged as she watched Roy slash the red ranger to pieces.  Absently, she turned to the quaking violet ranger. 

"Umm, just so you know, I was fully willing to cooperate.  Any of you guys that aren't getting hacked to pieces in the next few seconds can feel free to take me in.  Of course, if you're all too busy, I suppose I can wander off then."

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:33 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Cookies abruptly snapped to attention upon being yelled at by Boss Roy, and open his eyes in just enough time to watch the Red Ranger split into a lot of little Red Ranger pieces.  Now normally the man would have been appalled by the black man's savage actions, but, looking down at the needle embedded in his aching chest, Cookies thought the dismemberment was well deserved. After all, who threatens a person with amnesia?

"Alright, alright, I'm going," Cookies muttered dismissively before addressing the Violet Ranger as well. "Hey, just so you know, when you make your report to the Overlord Council make sure to include the fact that I didn't do anything to you guys," the lavender haired man stated with a slight smile and bow before waving bye and running out of the office muttering something about getting a change of clothes.

Meanwhile the Violet Ranger, having heard neither Cookies or Galin, simply gaped at the space his superior had once inhabited before looking up toward Boss Roy, absently noting that his suit was still in impeccable condition despite the carnage, and staring at him in disbelief.  "D-D-Do you realize what you've just done?! You've just made yourself an Alpha offender! Now the Overlord Council has free reign to attack you within the Prime Dimension! We're not talking apprehension here, we're talking about ripping you limb from limb!" Violet exclaimed in horror, his body shaking violently as he tried to compose himself.

"You have no idea what you've just done! While the Council needs Cookies alive to extract his powers you are of no value to them! You'll be lucky if they only send Zetta to pulverize you!" Violet continued to exclaim.

Meanwhile the rest of the Rangers, now hungry for blood, had taken up the offensive, aiming their arm cannons, and fired an assortment of attacks at the immaculately dressed man.

"Die you bastard!" the twins cried out in unison, snarling savagely, as the Green Ranger expelled a cloud of poisonous gas from her cannon and the Yellow Ranger fired a colossal bolt of lighting, that even Thor would envy, directly at Boss's person. The Blue Ranger had taken a more defensive approach, encasing himself in a block of solid ice, as his scope eye zoomed in and out ceaselessly.  Unlike the twins, however, he said nothing and only hit a small, red button at the center of his chest which started to blink.

For his part the Violet Ranger continued to gape in disbelief for a moment more before turning to Galin. "Ma'am, if you want to maintain your innocence I suggest you retreat immediately! Anyone caught further fraternizing with Boss Roy will be deemed an Alpha Offender as well!" the man cried before immediately whipping around and aiming his arm cannon at Roy as well and firing a series of impossibly wind scythes at him.

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:37 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"Hey! Suzu, Boss Roy told me to come see you about instating me as a trainee!" Cookies called out as he ran into the Command Center, now donning a blue suit even more immaculate and smexy then Boss Roy's, and looking twice as dashing despite the fact that his black dress shirt was button sloppily and his white tie hung onto his next by a prayer. In fact, looking into a nearby computer screen, he marveled at himself with a vanity that could only be rivaled by Narcissus, and said, with an appraising smile, "Damn I look good. Maybe being a guy won't be so bad."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:36 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"Of no value?" Boss simply chuckled from his new position, sitting on Violet's head. As they'd been talking for so long, he'd had lots of time to get there. "You guys are more out of the loop than I thought. Out of pity, I think I might just let you guys live," He said. "Then again, maybe not." And with that his blade found its way straight down through Violet's helmet and out the underside of her archaic power suit.

Boss looked over at Galin.

"You heard that right? I'm a first class criminal. You should probably go away or something. Your boyfriend, Zero, he's sure to be doing something right now, why don't you go find him?"

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:37 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Suzu blinked at the man and then sighed, shaking her head.

"Okay. Who are you again?"

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:37 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Despite having missed Boss Roy by meters the twin continued their relentless assault as they fired their respective attacks at the man once again, ignoring the fact that they were aiming at their likely deceased partner. Blue continued to watch, seemingly unfazed, but the blinking of the button on his chest became more rapid with every passing second.

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:38 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Having only heard the tail end of what Suzu said, so enthralled he was with his appearance, Cookies looked up toward her and cocked an eyebrow as he muttered, "What does she mean "again"? Jeez, she acts like I've been pestering her all day. Boss Roy sure does hire some bitchy people." Deciding not to make it an issue, however, Cookies replied saying, "Yeah, Boss Roy told me to come down here and have you instate me, Cookies, as a trainee. I don't know why, but that's what he said."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:38 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Suzu frowned at the man before her, and shook her head.

"Yeah, yeah, but can you answer my question? Who. Are. You."

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:37 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy simply floated out of the way of the projectiles, allowing them to messily slice through violet ranger. He pointed his sword at one of the twins and it near instantly extended, stabbing his target through the sternum and spine. Without waiting to see how they'd react, he sliced downwards.

"Hmm, blinking red light. Perhaps I should go ahead and get rid of that," Boss said. "Whatever it is, it's probably gonna be unpleasant for the poor building," He said. With a sigh, he floated over to the block encased blue ranger and then put a foot up to it, and pushed it away towards the sky as hard as he could.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:37 p.m., 3036 A.S.

". . . And these jokers actually thought they would be able to bring my dad in if I told them how to find his dimension?"

Shaking her head sadly, Galin turned and began to walk to the edge of the building.  It didn't say much for the rest of the Overlord Council if they considered someone like Roy here to be a major criminal, worthy of personal action.  Sure, he had a bit of power, for a mortal, but he was nothing compared to Zero.

Once the redhead reached the edge of the building, she pulled her hood up once more and looked over the horizon.  She could sense Zero's power, like a beacon, but she could also feel that he was in the middle of some kind of intrigue and just walking up to him would probably be problematic . . .

Which made it just too irresistible to resist.


Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim; Back hallways, August 26, 3:59 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Once she'd cleared the strange field that was encompassing the building, it was a simple matter for Galin to ploteport herself relatively close to Zero's position.

She found herself in a pretty impressive looking building of some sort.  Shrugging, she activated her Obfuscation power to fade out of the sight of everyone around, feeling more sure with her powers by the moment, and began to wander around looking for her would be cohort while everyone around her were completely oblivious to her presence.

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:39 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Cookies simply blinked a Suzu, twice, in disbelief before hunching over toward her with a down syndrome expression on his face saying, "Ma'. Name. Is. Coo-keys. Boss Roie wants you to in-state me. Do. You. Un. Der. Stand. The. Words. That. Are. Com. Ing. Out. Of. Ma'. Mouth?"  However, before Suzu could respond, the lavender haired man immediately righted himself and, with a cough into his fist, stated in a sophisticated tone, "Or is that you are inquiring as to who I am beneath the surface, behind this facade which is presented to the world as the outward presentation of who I think myself to be? Or does your question perhaps deal with the intricate qualities of existentialism and how I apply them to the person you see before you? Unfortunately, if either is the case, I cannot answer these questions because I HAVE AMNESIA RETARD!"

With that Cookies coughed once more into his fist before smilingly charmingly at the pink haired young woman.

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:38 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Little did Boss Roy realize that his kicking of the Blue Ranger was in fact a huge mistake.  The blinking of the Ranger's chest did not mean he was a bomb, but rather that he was using ability to call upon the Rangers' secret weapon and the rapid succession of blinks indicated how close the weapon was. And now, as the skies started to swirl into a vortex of black and gray cyclone the weapon made it's appearance.

Standing at 100 feet, the Technicolour Gigazord made its climactic appearance.  Composed of  red head that resembled Optimus Primes', a violet body the was reminiscent of Gundam's, arms that were giant green and yellow cannons, and giant, bulky, blue legs as thick as skyscrapers.

Without a word the Blue Ranger dropped his ice casing, and, teleporting in the fraction of a second it took to blink, was already at the helm of the robot siting within the azure, liquid core.  Once within the core his hands extended causing the core to glow followed by the lighting up of violet, red, yellow, and green cores behind him. Knowing that the other twin was likely as good as dead, the Blue Ranger immediately activated the cloning devices above the cores an summoned replacements from his nebulous surroundings where, in the expansive darkness, clone machines were stored.

It did not take long for the machines to activate, and with a split second Red, Violet, Green, and Yellow Ranger clones had dropped into their respective bubbles. They were obviously groggy from having just been developed, but, upon realizing that they were within their cores, knew that it was straight to work for them.

Meanwhile, the Blue Ranger was making sure that the anti-mater field he had set up when he first appeared within the bubble was functioning at 100 percent. It was.

Then, with a deep, dark, computerized chuckle reminiscent of that annoying voice you would hear on old Macs, the Blue Ranger set the Technicolour Gigazord into action.  As far as he was concerned, Boss Roy, no matter how quick or powerful he was, would fall to the might of the Gigazord, known throughout the Prime Dimension as being one of the most resilient machines to ever have been invented.

Taking no time to taunt the man off in the distance, the Rangers leveled their cannons at the security firm and, after a brief humming, fired two giant blasts of raw energy at the building.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:40 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Boss Roy gaped at the spectacular sight of the giant robot. One of the Overlord Council's favorite toys, it was sure to attract some attention, especially with the intergalactic business going on in some miles away.  When they fired their cannons, however, the black man put on a look of horror on his face and simply stood there, watching, as the blasts closed in on his position. In seconds, the raw energy tore through his office and a large chunk of the building... and the buildings behind it, for miles on, causing a wave of destruction throughout the city.

When the dust settled, there wasn't an atom of Boss Roy left to sift through. He was gone.

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:39 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Suzu blinked.

"Wait a minute, what? Wasn't Cookies that gi-" And then the building rocked terribly, and alarms immediately began to blare in earnest. "What the hell?! Status report!"

"We've sustained heavy damage in the upper floors, m'am!" A young computer operator said.

"What the hell from!?" The pink haired girl demanded, looking over at the computer screen. An image of the zord appeared on it and she took a step back in horror, cringing. "Why the hell is that thing here!?" She demanded.

"We're not sure, m'am," another worker replied.

"Oh boy... What's the Boss doing right now?" She demanded. "Does he need back up?"

"Um... m'am..." The man turned and looked at her. "It says here... Roy resigned from his position as Boss twenty minutes ago. You're the new boss."

Boss Suzu just stared straight ahead, comprehending, but unable to make sense of what she'd been told.

"But... but what happened to the Boss?" she finally asked.

"Roy Doll disappeared within the last minute," the previous worker said. "Our scanners were not able to find him in the aftermath of the blast, m'am."

Boss Suzu froze, eyes wide, and mouth hanging open. She blinked several times before scowling and punching the nearby railing on her raised platform.

"Is that so," She finally said in a cool voice. "Then there's no way we can fight that... thing. We have no choice but to see what it is here for and hope that it will leave." She shook her head. 'Boss... how can you do this to us? To... me? There's no way that I can do this alone... I'm... not ready... but I'll have to try...'

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim; Hallway outside Princess Grim's waiting room, August 26, 3:40 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Zero was surprised when he felt the powerful tremors and quickly bent over to the side to catch a vase from falling off of a nearby stand. The centuries old vase with its intricate designs was standard affair in the Hall of Grim, along with its too classy oil paintings and sculptures of former monarchs and royals, and the expensive rugs of foreign make that matched the vases and other pottery.

He quickly knocked on the door and yelled in.

"Princess! Are you safe?"

"Ah, I'm fine!" The young lady called back as she opened her door and peeked out. "But what on Grim was that?"

"I aim to find out." He said as he held up his left arm and activated the computer there, and a holographic screen displayed above it, showing a live feed from the local news station.

"... authorities are still... unsure of why the Overlord Council's Technicolor Gigazord has made this appearance and attacked the building of such a well known security firm," The voice of a young woman said. "The casualties and property damage caused by this foreign war machine is unknown, but it is certain to be an appalling figure."

'Overlord Council?!' Zero thought with a frown. 'Why are they attacking Boss Roy? They should have nothing against him... unless they're smarter than I took them for. In that case, I must make even more haste with my plans if I am to avoid detection long enough to attain a force strong enough to wage war with them.'

"I see," An older, masculine voice responded. "Can you tell us more about the main target of the attack, Sinde?"

"The target building is the corporate office of Grim Planet's most well known security firm and the home of its CEO, one Royil Dollian. His penthouse suite was atomized in the attack, but witnesses say there had been at least one explosion long before this horrendous attack."

"Royil Dollian? He was to be one of the Guests of Honor at tonight's meet, was he not?"

"Indeed," Sinde continued. "Royil, while one of the Grim System's most powerful men, is also one of its most beloved figures, having advocated peace and made many donations to charities around the system. Because of his efforts to reduce pain, strife, and crime throughout the system, he was to be presented with a medal after the official ceremonies had been conducted."

"Xergo... What's going on?" The princess asked.

"I am unsure," The man said. "The Overlord Council is known for acting on its whims. Truly a foul organization, to use such overkill on its enemies in that manner," He spat. "While we mortals are powerless to stop them, they trample over us and rain down destruction."

"Ah..." The young princess looked down at what he'd said. For millennia, the Overlord Council's dominion over the universe had been all but accepted by everyone. To have qualms with them and their unquestionable dictatorship was to have qualms with the universe itself. If there was one thing her father had taught her, it was that even kings had to bow down to some.

"What can you tell us about the damage to the other buildings?" The man's voice continued.

"Because of the angle of the blast, while only the top half of Mr. Dollian's firm was destroyed, the buildings behind it suffered increasingly more damage as their base support was directly destroyed, leaving what was left to fall and collapse in on itself." The woman paused for a moment. "We've... we've just received word that the blasts tore through several residential districts as well, and an elementary school in that sector."

The princess, behind Zero, became pale in the face.

Zero, beneath his helmet, smirked.

'I can make use of this. Oh yes, I can make use of this.'

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Now simply the HQ of Boss Roy's security firm, Roy's Former Office, August 26, 3:41 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The Rangers smiled triumphantly at their handiwork as they surveyed the grim scene before them.  Having already discussed the possibility of excessive casualties with the Grim Planet Central Government, the Rangers were not too concerned about the vast, smoldering wasteland that was once a series of office buildings, hospitals, and schools. After all, if taking out a universal threat came at the price of a few hundred thousands of lives, they were more than willing to pay that price.

"Alright," the Blue Ranger stated in his mechanized voice, "Let's finish the job."  "Cookies is bound to be in the lower half of the building right now, which means there is a 99.8% chance that he's already onto us," the automaton stated as he and the rest of the Rangers used their combined wills to move the Gigazord forward, carelessly destroying even more buildings and killing even more people as they turned entire blocks into concrete powder and warped steel.  Screams could be heard throughout the nebulous core of the machine, but the cries of agony and the prayers of the desperate went unacknowledged by the Rangers. Their allegiance was to the Council, not civilians.

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:41 p.m., 3036 A.S

"Holy. Shit." Cookies deadpanned with a blank expression on his face as he viewed one of the giant monitors in the control room and watched the mechanized terror known as the Gigazord rampage throughout the city with perfunctory attempts at avoiding buildings, such as preschools, that would "slightly" tarnish their media image.

"These guys are absolutely insane! Someone's got to stop them!" Cookies exclaimed, wide eyed, as he watched the giant robot slam its colossal foot down on an orphanage.  "NOOOOO! NOT THE ORPHANAGE! I PLANNED ON SELLING MY CRACK COCAINE OUT OF THERE! THOSE DEVILS!!!!" he cried in horror while shaking his fist at the sky in agony. Then, slumping to the ground defeated with his head tucked into his chest, the lavender haired man muttered in a low, dark voice, "Suzu...I want the biggest gun you've got and some strudel. This bastard is going down."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:41 p.m., 3036 A.S

Boss Suzu glared at the man.

"No. Not only do I not know who you really are, that would be suicide, not just for you, but for us as well. If you go out there and attack it, then rest assured we will be fighting you too." She turned away from him and walked over to the command center chair, where she sat down. "As I am now the highest ranking officer in this organization... You will answer to me, or you've got no shot of being anything. Understood?"

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim; Central Hall, August 26, 3:55 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Zero was only one of many soldiers in the room as they all bore witness to a vast display on the screen. Beside him was the Princess, who, like the others nobles and lords present, were just as curious as the soldiers as to what would develop.

"And we will go live to hear now words from his imperial highness on the attack perpetrated by these intergalactic soldiers," An aged reporter said, and the camera shifted to Grim Palace's press room, with the Emperor himself standing at its head, microphones around him.

"My fair citizens, the Overlords themselves share our sorrow for the lives lost, but it was a cost necessary to rid the universe of a terrible evil. They assure me that, had we not allowed them to operate on our fair planet, then the planet itself may have been destroyed."

Zero shook his head.

"Exactly who were they trying to kill?" He muttered. "I heard no news of an Alpha Class criminal on our planet. And certainly they could have attempted a lower scale attack before moving to such extreme measures..." The princess glanced at him, and then looked up at the screen with a troubled face.

"Continuing on, I have a very strong belief that we must not let this impede our progress on the peace front. Tonight's events shall proceed as planned. If there is any inquiry regarding the intergalactic meet, then you may let it be known." For a long moment, there was silence, but then a young woman spoke up.

"Your majesty," The camera panned out to reveal a green haired teen in business attire. "What of the damages? Where will the money to repair these buildings and mend the injured be coming from? Surely the Overlords are prepared to assist their faithful?"

"Unfortunately, that money will be coming out of the tax revenue. We are pleased to assist the Overlords when they require it, and if our own are injured in the crossfire, then we must care for them ourselves. I assure you that the one to blame is the criminal whose actions deserved such destructive methods. The Overlords are entirely innocent in this, and again, I must emphasize our readiness to assist them in their endeavors no matter the cost."

Zero shook his head.

"Even if it means we must be trampled under foot in the process?" He muttered. "How foul."

"Are there any further questions?"

"Many pardons for my repeated questioning, your highness," The green haired teen started again. "But just who was it that they were after?"

The emperor paused for a moment, before responding.

"That information was not shared with me, but I can assure you that whoever it was, they were well deserving of such force. Now, unfortunately, I must take my leave, as I must be ready to meet with our guests from beyond the stars in five hours." And with that, the feed to the press room was killed, returning back to the global news station.

Zero immediately input a code into the computer in his helmet and spoke.

"Miya, get out of there now," He said in a low tone. "You did well, perhaps a little too well."

"Roger," The voice of the green haired teen said. "Does this mean I get the doughnuts you promised me?"

"Yes, yes, just get out of there." He killed the conversation and turned to face the Princess. "Princess, what do you think of the Overlords?"

"Ah..." She frowned and shook her head. "My father has always taught me that they are not to be defied. But..." She sighed. "I... I cannot bear to watch my people suffer at their hands. It has shamed me for years that we are powerless to stop their... activities."

"I see."

Just then, he became aware of a familiar presence in the hall and noticed a familiar cloaked figure...

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim; Outside the Central Hall, August 26, 3:55 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin tilted her head to the side as she took in the information her minor clairvoyance spell was feeding her.  While whoever it was on the television was explaining the innocence of the Overlord council, she could clearly hear Zero subtly trying to determine, and guide the opinion of some girl that was apparently a princess.

Even as numerous people ran frantically past her, totally ignorant of her presence, she did her best to determine how to have some fun with this . . .

. . . Hmmm, a simple henge could do.

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim; Central Hall, August 26, 3:57 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Suddenly, in a grand flash of violet light, a violet haired and violet haired Loli wearing a bright, flashy sailor fuku and wielding a massive glaive appeared at the heart of the Central Hall and leveled her glaive right at the Princess.

"Let any who question the will of the Overlords be Punished!  So says Cookies, the Overlord!"

She made very certain to make sure that Zero was standing right beside the princess while she made her declaration, then fired a massive blast of (mostly illusory) energy at the princess' overly adorable face.

'Time to play the Hero . . . Zero.'

And before anyone even had a chance to respond (other than Zero, hopefully), 'Cookies' vanished in another flash of light.

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:42 p.m., 3036 A.S

Cookies looked up from his hunched position quizzically as he took in the new boss of the Clockwork Knights in all her seated glory.  Then, after a brief moment, he smiled lopsidedly and shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so, Boss. Though, for someone who wasn't so sure of their ability to be in charge you sure seem to have adapted fairly well." the lavender haired man stated as he braced his hands on his knees and stood up from his crouch.

Grunting with a slight hint of annoyance, Cookies added, frowning slightly, "But remember this, while you may be in charge of the Knights, there's obviously a reason these guys want me dead or captured this badly. And while I may not know what that reason is, it must be a pretty damn good one. That's just something for you to keep in mind when you have me playing gofer for you."  Then, turning away from the teen, Cookies started to stride out of the command center, his polished shoes clicking in rhythmic succession across the tiled floor, before he came to the metal doors that led out into the hall.

"Now, if you would be so kind Boss, would you mind telling me where I can find something to help you guys kill this thing with," Cookies said, looking over his shoulder with a sadistic smile only capable of a man possessing a deranged mind.

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Former Clock Work Knight Headquarters;  August 26, 3:43 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The Gigazord was only seconds away from bearing down only the half smoldering skyscraper that had once been Roy's Security Firm/Ex-Clockwork Knights HQ.  The Rangers within the metal behemoth could practically smell the blood of their victims wafting through the void that comprised the control center.  They could also feel the fear of those around them, and, despite their alleged position as the defenders of universal justice, they revealed in it like a fat child in a candy shop.  Yes, this is what they lived for...the kill.

The roar of the twin cannons echoed through the mass wasteland that was once the business district of Grim City, and then...there was light.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:43 p.m., 3036 A.S

Well adapted?

She was just trying to save their asses!

"Kill? Are you deaf, or just stupid?" She demanded. "We're not doing anything!"

"Um, 'mam, it looks like it's getting ready for another attack!"

Suzu quickly looked over at the display screen showing the gigazord.

"And when I said we're not doing anything, I mean we're retreating!" She said. "Full scale retreat! Get to the underground hangar now! We're launching the moble base!" She hit a large red button on the side of her chair and alarms and a computerized announcement blared to life.

"All hands to battle stations!"

"Wait, that's the wrong one," she muttered before hitting the blue button beneath it.

"All personel are to report to the underground hangar for a full scale evacuation!"

She looked over at Cookies.

"If you want to survive, you'd probably better come with us! If not, then go ahead and fight that thing! I don't care anymore!" With that, she joined the group of people heading to the underground hangar just as the building shook, knocking most of the people to the ground. Getting a new idea, she instead turned and looked at him. "If you want, go buy us some time!" She tossed him a small key and pointed over at a large metal door. "Take your pick! This place is probably gonna be blown to bits anyway!"

With that, she again joined the flow of people heading to the evacuation point.








Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim; Central Hall, August 26, 3:57 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Not sure what to make of the cloaked figure's presence, and deciding that it was of no concern to him, Zero was turning to lead the Princess back to her own area so that the Central Hall's preperations for the night could continue, when there was a violet flash of light.

"Let any who question the will of the Overlords be Punished!  So says Cookies, the Overlord!"

Zero quickly turned and looked up at the figure claiming to be cookies, and frowned as she fire the massive illusory blast of energy at his charge.

'Not nearly flamboyant enough, but that will do.'

The faux-soldier stood before the princess, whose face was locked in a look of horror, and knelt, holding up the arm with the computer and summoning a barrier around the two of them. The blast washed over them harmlessly, and crashed into the floor around them. Unsurprisingly, the damage was nowhere near what one who'd only seen the blast might have expected, and Zero frowned.

'This is too convenient, anyone who looks back on this may suspect it was arranged.' Zero stood back up and looked around at the group that was now staring at him, thus making him the center of attention.

"Your highness! Are you hurt?!" Zero and his charge turned to look at a man in regal robes quickly making his way over to them.

"I am fine, Lord Austere," She said. "Was that... truly an overlord?"

"I know not, but I aim to find out," The man said with a growl before turning to look the roomful of soldiers. "Find out who it was that was just in here! I want a spatial and chronal warping tracerin here now! Figure out their unique displacement signature! I don't care if it's magical technological or what, but if that person was not an Overlord by the name of Cookies, I want to know everything about them!"

"Yes, my lord!" the room quickly burst into action and Austere turned to look at Zero again.

"What's your name, soldier?"

Zero grit his teeth.

"Xergo Proxy, Sir." He said with a salute.

"Proxy, eh? You're not from one of the noble families, are you?" The lord asked with a curious look. "Well, you've done a good job today. Who's your commander?"

"I am under the command of Errain Duval, Solemn Knight, my lord."

"I'll be sure to let him know of your quick thinking, soldier. Expect a promotion," The man said with a smile. He turned to look at the princess again. "Princess, though it pains me to do so, I must take my leave." The young lady nodded.

"I understand. You needn't worry about me, sir." She said. The man nodded and turned to leave and organize theor efforts to find their visitor.

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim; Hallway outside Princess Grim's waiting room, August 26, 3:40 p.m., 3036 A.S.

As the two returned to the princess's room, she stopped and spoke to him.

"Thank you for protecting me, Xergo."

Zero shook his head and knelt down to the ground.

"My highness... I cannot appologize enough. My indiscretion caused us to be attacked. I shall take care to choose my words more carefully in the future." He said.

The princess shook her head.

"Please stand. You have no reason to appologize. I was the one who said those things... but..." Zero stood up, and saw that her face became ashen as she came to understand what the attack meant. "They're... they're watching us? Are they omnipotent? Omniscient?"

Zero looked around several times before looking back at her.

"I... I do not believe so, princess. I have... spoken my mind about the overlords before, and not been attacked for it. Perhaps they simply had someone in the hall at the time? Or perhaps it has something to do with today's meeting between nations... did you hear anything of the Overlords being involved, majesty?"

"No, I did not." She said with a shake of her head.

"I see..." He shook his head. "...Just in case, I would advise that you... do not say anything of them until you feel safe, highness."

The young lady nodded.

"I.. yes, of course."

"Now... I believe you had been waiting on your hairdresser before this incident?" The soldier asked.

"Ah..."

"I shall contact them again to makesure they know we are still waiting," He said. "You may stay in your room if you like."

The princess nodded slowly before turning to go into her room.

[Lathis]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Jaumbi's Cafe, August 26, 3:45 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Galin watched the destruction of the city from a safe distance of several kilometers away with a small frown on her lips.  She had no idea that the other overlords were so vindictive.  And yet they claimed that it was HER father that was the psychotic monster.  Certainly her father could be thorough, but she'd never seen him do anything so vulgar or senseless in her life.

It was actually spoiling her mood on how easily she'd escaped the tracking of those royal goons.  There was a reason she'd chosen Cookie's form.  Thanks to Cookie's earlier outburst, Galin had gotten a perfect sample of her . . . his, whatever, power signature.  Not only would the royal scanners find every single signature to match Cookie's perfectly, Galin had also been kind enough to teleport right back into the damaged Security Firm/Knights Headquarters, right where the actual Cookies was, before shedding her disguise.  So no only did she escape cleanly, she even gave them a convenient patsy to follow, if they were even competent enough to get that far.

Now she just needed to figure out what to do next . . .

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, Formerly Clock Work Knight Headquarters; Former Clockwork Knight Command Center, August 26, 3:44 p.m., 3036 A.S

Scoffing at Suzu presumed cowardice, Cookies shot a hand out and snatched the key out of the sky in a one fluid motion.  Looking down at the piece of metal for a moment, a thoughtful expression find it's way onto this youthful features, the young man briefly considered fleeing with the young woman but almost immediately thought better of it.

"Tch, so she wants to run with all of these innocent people dying around us? Well I'll be damned if I do the same," the man thought with a wicked smile forming on his cruel lips. "Just you watch, woman, I'll kill this bastard before you even get 10 feet out of here!" the lavender haired man bellowed as he cupped his hands in front of his face in the direction Suzu had fled. Then, deciding not to waste another precious second, the man sprinted for the door which he unlocked revealing an expansive weapons cache.

The walls of the room were lined with guns, ancient and modern, spears, swords, shields, cannons, and more.  Cookies jaw dropped for a moment as he gaped at the unbelievable sight before snapping himself out of his awe with a strong slap to the face.  "There's no time to gawk you idiot! You've got to find something quick!" the man chided himself with a scowl on his face as he stepped into the room and tried to locate anything he could use against the metal monstrosity bearing down on the remains of the headquarters.

"AK-47, nope.  Desert Eagle with an ammunition generator installed within? Yeah, that might be useful later.  Alright...nope, nope, nope," Cookies muttered as he tucked a pair of steel plated Desert Eagles through his belt and continued to peruse the selection before him.  "Hand Cannon? Nah.  18th Century Cannon? Hell no. Oh! And who might you be?" the slim man whispered to himself with a slight smile as he hefted a large gun reminiscent of a RPG-29 off of a metallic rack just above his head.  "Well you're definitely not a rocket launcher, but then...what are you?" Cookies muttered to himself with a slight frown as he quickly took in the details of the gun.  While definitely constructed like a RPG-29, Cookies couldn't help but notice that it didn't appear to fire grenades, but rather some kind of specialized round that had to do with the large battery attached to it's base.

"Meh, whatever, I'll take it," the man muttered to himself as he slung it over his shoulder by the strap and turned to find at least once more weapon.  Then his eyes fell upon it and it was love at first sight.

"Beautiful," he uttered in a hushed voice as he approached the weapon and gaped at it's magnificence.  Never before had he seen such craftsmanship, such painstaking attention to detail, and never had he felt such innate power held within the weapon itself.

Reading the inscription on a gold plaque hanging slightly below it, Cookies couldn't help but feel a connection to the weapon before him.  "Do not touch! That means you Guyin and Roy Doll! Though especially you Guyin!  If this sword doesn't kill you then you can be sure I will!!! Property of Major Cookies: The Blade of W-Fox, Vine."

Looking up at the magnificent broadsword, Cookies felt compelled, or, better yet, as though his body were commanded by another as he extended a hand toward the intricate hilt designed as the gaping maw of a ruby lion, its fiery mane flaring out around the actual hilt, and seemingly consuming the glistening blade itself.  Though he could faintly feel the blade's hostile intent, the lavender haired man could not restrain himself, seemingly possessed as he was.  However, just as his hand was scant centimeters from grasping the hilt, the blade abruptly shot off of its display and soared straight into the air.

Confused, wide eyed, and somewhat fearful, Cookies only had a split second to utter, "What the-" before the blade came hurtling down at a godly speed, suddenly enshrouded in a dark, corrosive cloud of energy, and slammed right into his abdomen.  Cookies couldn't even summon forth the energy to cough up blood as his brown eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell down dead, the blade pinned in the ground being the only thing that inhibited his head from smacking onto the ground.

And then the room filled with light.

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Former Clock Work Knight Headquarters;  August 26, 3:46 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Debris composed of molten metal, rapidly disintegrating rock, and a copious amount of ash sprayed up from the colossal, smoldering crater that stood  in the memory of the former Clockwork Knight Headquarters.  If the setting sun had not blanketed the city in a darkening violet sky, the smoldering remnants of the buildings before and surrounding the Gigazord would have done so.  And for the Technicolour Justice Rangers, nothing said a job well done better then the sound of a hollow wind whistling through the desolate remains of an obliterated city.

"Alright, Rangers, good job!  Cookies' has likely been incapacitated, or dead. Doesn't really matter which I guess since the Council said they wanted him dead or alive. And the same goes for Roy Doll," the Red Ranger stated with a smug smile finding its way onto his wickedly handsome face as he once again assumed the mantle of leader.

The rest of the Rangers simply nodded in agreement as the surveyed the scene before them with a sense of achievement and satisfaction. Well, all except for one.

"A pity though, I so wanted to wring Cookies neck with my bare hands," the blue Ranger stated with a thoroughly put out sigh as he removed his helmet revealing none other than Prince of the Nepsilon Empire. "It's even more of a pity that Guyin wasn't here and that we can't find Kasumi Tendo, but I guess two out of four isn't bad."

With that said, he and the rest of the Rangers prepared to depart as they activate the portal core and waited for a portal to the Overlord Council Dimension to open.

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Former Clockwork Knight Headquarters;  August 26, 3:46 p.m., 3036 A.S.

When the portal finally opened, the Gigazord, nor those in it, noticed a comparatively miniscule human sized figure in a black cloak fly in at insane speeds.

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A blue haired figure sitting on a majestic throne with a thoughtful look on his face in an icy cavern suddenly looked up.

"He's gone? I knew it, something's not right..." The man stood up from his place on the throne. "Something is amiss in the prime dimension. What are those Overlords doing? Can't they even keep tabs on someone like that?" He shook his head. "I've got to get things back under control... if that one realizes his power, then we could have another War of Disasters on our hand..." The figure promptly vanished.

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Former Clockwork Knight Headquarters;  August 26, 3:47 p.m., 3036 A.S.

In a bright white flash, the majestic blue figure with long blue hair, pale skin, and a white skintight suit appeared between the Gigazord and the portal to the Overlord dimension. Immediately his eyes widened as he realized something.

'Suz'umi-Ya's power has been split? How the hell did that happen?!'

He looked up at the Gigazord, not at all recognizing what it was.

"What is the meaning of this?!" He yelled out. "Where is Suz'umi-Ya-no-Kami? What happened to her!?"

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Former Clockwork Knight Headquarters; August 26, 3:48 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"Tch, and who is this clown?" the Red Ranger grumbled to himself as the Rangers were abruptly forced to cut their departure short momentarily.  "Hey Green, what the hell is that guy talkin' about? Who the fuck is Suzzie-mya-no-Tammy. Is that even galactic basic?" the man inquired with a weary expression on his face as he looked over his shoulder at the raven haired girl behind him.

Shrugging and shaking her head, the Green Ranger stated, "No clue Red, sounds like gibberish to me.  I think this guy might be some time traveling wacko like the Jupiah character we had to take down a few months back." Then, as an aside, she muttered, "Time travel sure does warp the mind. I never met someone who actually believed that they were the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, Buddha, Moses, and Mohamed at the same time. Then he tried to turn us into pillars of salt and wine with his bare hands, what a trip."

Meanwhile, as the Green Ranger continued to think back to the Rangers encounter with the crazed Jupiah, the Red Ranger had activated the speaker systems and prepared to respond.  Clearing his throat rather loudly, the blonde declared, "Hey, buddy, I have no clue what you're talking about, but you need to get out of the portal space. You're not allowed here. So hurry up, come, come, shoo shoo!"

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Former Clockwork Knight Headquarters; August 26, 3:50 p.m., 3036 A.S.

The blue haired man growled.

"Useless," He muttered. With a frown, he shook his head and looked the zord over. "This portal leads to Overlord space, does it not? Then you shall inform them that their lax behavior will no longer be tolerated!"

The figure then vanished from sight after that.

Grim Planet; Grim City, beneath the Former Clockwork Knight Headquarters; The Command Ship, Cherry; August 26, 3:56 p.m., 3036 A.S.

On the bridge of the Cherry, the Clockwork Knights newest mobile base, its design inspired by that of the one that had been destroyed only the night before, Suzu sat in the throne looking out at the workers below her. For some reason, the scene was extremely familiar...

And then... reality blurred, and she saw a cloaked figure sitting in a chair below a radar screen.

Frowning, the young teen barked.

"Guyin, stop watching those damned cartoons and help with the evacuation preparations! Those Overlords will be all over this place when..." She slowed down to a stop when the vision faded, replaced by the sight of a man watching the radar screen, which was in fact, not occupied by cartoons. Almost the whole crew was looking at her by that point. 'What... what was that?'

She shook her head.

"Er, as you were, people!"

And then, a blue haired man appeared on the bridge suddenly. Upon seeing the man's face, reality seemed to distort for Suzu again and she felt a splitting headache all of the sudden.

"Ugh... what..."

And just as quickly as it started, the pain was gone. She looked up and noticed the man was gone.

"Wha...huh?" She shook her head.

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 01, Hall of Grim; Hallway outside Princess Grim's waiting room, August 26, 4:05 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Zero stood, frozen in place.

'That pulse...' He shook his head. It had washed over him like a tidal wave of pressure, rippling out in all directions across the prime dimension. The magically insensitive wouldn't have noticed it, but every shaman and cheap magical tramp in the universe would have noticed it. 'That was Suzumiya's energy. But... it's too soon for the re-union. What's going on?'

He immediately reached up to his helmet and pushed a button.

"Miya, are you okay?"

"..."

"Miya, respond to me. Are you all right?"

"... I'm... I'm fine. I managed to escape those punks easy. But just now... I had this splitting headache..."

"I see." He sighed. "Come back to me. I can't afford to let you out of my sight anymore."

"What? What's going on?"

"I'll explain it to you when you get back. For now, just come here."

"... Okay..."

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 12, Low District; Underbelly of Grim City, August 26, 4:04 p.m., 3036 A.S.

A brown haired woman dressed in dirty, ragged clothing, sat above her stolen cargo ship, a look of confusion on her face.

"Who... am.. I?"

And then she felt it.  Something terrible ripped into the root of her very being, her eternal soul...

And a single word came to mind.

'...Haruhi...'

The woman looked up at the sky, her pain all but forgotten at that word. Was it a name? It sounded like one.

But was it hers?

She shook her head and reached into her pocket before pulling out a note and a picture.

[Ebony Debony]

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Former Clockwork Knight Headquarters; August 26, 3:51 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Everyone in the cockpit of the Gigazord looked back and forth between one another, looks of both befuddlement and uncertainty on their faces.

"And just who the hell does that guy think he is!?" the Yellow Ranger finally spoke up after a moment, indignant and full of self-righteous anger, as she glared at the viewing screen which once displayed the visage of a blue haired man. "No one talks to us that way or, more importantly, tells the Council what will and will not be tolerated! We run this show, dammit! What is with people not respecting us these days?! First it was that Jupiah character, now Roy Doll, and even Cookies with amnesia wasn't taking us seriously!!! I tell ya', some people have some nerve!" she continued to rant as the Blue Ranger shook his head in annoyance.

"Alright, forget that guy, the portal is finished stabilizing so we should find Cookies' body so we can take him back to the Council for his trial...if he's still alive," Red stated after another minute of Yellow's incessant ranting, once again returning the crew to the task at hand. "Violet, perform a scan of the rubble and see if you can't pick up any trace of him," the blond directed, earning a single nod from Violet who set about typing in various data on his holographic wrist computer.

"Performing scan, Captain, we should know where he or his remains are in a few seconds," the snow white haired Violet stated as he finished typing and let the computer do its job. After a few minutes of the scanner picking up nothing Violet became both a bit concerned and curious as he reentered the data and widened the scan over the entirety of the crater, only, much to his surprise, to find that he still couldn't find anything.

Meanwhile, the Red Ranger and crew had become quite concerned and dubious of the results Violet might present to them. After all, they were sure that not even Cookies would not have retreated with the others due to W-Vulpine's prideful nature now being part of him.  So, with curious stares, the quartet waited impatiently for Violet to relate the situation to them.

Realizing that his teammates were waiting for him to finish Violet grew even more nervous as bullets of sweat started to form across his brow and cheeks.  "Come on, come on," he muttered to himself, his face strained with anticipation and anxiety, as he widened the scan even further. And then there was a loud bleep amidst the seemingly immutable silence and Violet's jaw dropped.

"He's not in the crater...he's just outside of it!"

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Crater of Former Clockwork Knight Headquarters; August 26, 3:55 p.m., 3036 A.S.

"Heh, I wonder if they've realized it yet," Cookies muttered to himself with a wicked smirk lacing his cruel face as he swept back a strand of his lavender tress with his free hand, while his other stabilized the giant sword that rested precariously between his back and shoulder.

His answer almost immediately came in the form of the Gigazord leveling its giant cannons at him as they roared to life. Smirking even wider and chuckling slightly to himself, Cookies simply shook his head as he lifted his sword from behind his back and leveled at the cannons. "Well then, boys and girls, if you insist...lets dance!"

Within the blink of an eye Cookies had disappeared from view as the Gigazord's cannons fire a blast that tore even further into the ground revealing part of the planet's molten core, bubbling and hissing seemingly in protest of being revealed to the surface.

Seemingly bewildered, the bot frantically swung around trying to locate the elusive Cookies.  However, before it could do so, there was a bright flash of light from the Gigazord's left arm, a loud screeching of metal on metal which was subsequently followed by a loud, ear piercing squeal, and then the left arm fell of completely.  Reacting as if the machine itself was caught by surprise, the Gigazord back peddled only to find that its legs soon abandoned it for the ground as they came smashing down through the decimated area near the lost arm.

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Crater of the Former Clockwork Knight Headquarters - Gigazord Cockpit; August 26, 3:55  p.m., 3036 A.S.

"This is impossible!!!" the Red Ranger bellowed in agony and horror as he and the rest of the crew, all of whom were wide eyed, sweating bullets, and horrified, struggled to maintain any semblance of stability they could. Arms flailed, limbs kicked at awkward angles, and bodies lunged in all directions.  However it was to no avail as the Gigazord nearly met the same fate as its lost limbs, only to be saved by the thrusters placed at its back.

"It's impossible! The Gigazord is one of the most powerful devices to exist in any dimension!!! This shouldn't be happening!!!!" the Captain continued to bellow in disbelief.

"Oh it's possible," muttered the Blue Ranger, his face strained and pensive, as he balled his hands up into vehemently shaking fists and glared at the screen before him.

"Damn you Cookies, damn you to hell!!!"

Grim Planet; Grim City, A Few Feet away from the Crater of the Former Clockwork Knight Headquarters; August 26, 3:57 p.m., 3036 A.S.

Reappearing much as he had disappeared at the edge of the crater once more, Cookies smirked and chuckled to himself while flicking his nose in a taunt. "Well kids it was fun, but now it time for the adults to have their fun. Why don't you go ahead and inform your elders that Private Cookies of the Clockwork Knights is in town, and he's preparing to kick their sorry asses back to hell for the mindless destruction they wrought on Grim City," the lavender haired man stated as he leveled his sword at the Gigazord once again, "Or you can stay here and be destroyed. The choice is yours to make, thought I suggest you choose wisely."

It only took the Gigazord a minute to start hovering up toward the portal, slowly rising in shame and defeat and in a way resembling the mood of its occupants.

"Heh, good choice," Cookies muttered to himself as he turned away and started on his stroll to...somewhere. He'd already lost the rest of the Knights, so at the moment he was on his own with no direction. But, looking at the sword, its blade now glowing a deep amber and violet, now perched between his shoulder and back again, he wasn't too concerned.

"Alright, I guess I have to find a way to regroup with the rest of the Knights, or at least someone who can help me take on the Overlords."

[Author Roy]

Grim Planet; Grim City, District 20; Aboard the Clockwork Mobile Base, Cherry; August 26, 3:57 p.m., 3036 A.S.


Suzu just stared at the visual display that was being sent back to her. The carnage had gotten so terrible that the crater, which was where her former base had been, was now a -many-, many miles deep gouge in the side of the planet that revealed its inner molten core. It could probably be seen from space.

"What the hell is the government doing?" Suzu demanded. "It's like they don't even know what's going on! How can they not see this stuff?"

"Here, the emperor himself is making a public response right now," A worker said. Another picture appeared, wherein the emperor could be seen giving a speech of some sort. The screen cut away to some green haired teen, and Suzu blinked, before frowning. 'Do I know her?' The moment passed and she shook her head, then watched the remainder of the announcement. When it was over, the visual was erased, replaced with the image of the now incredibly deep crater, where only one person remained.

'Just think, we were there only moments ago,' She thought. 'If we hadn't evacuated...' She shook her head, then looked at the man to her right.

"Send a Carrochopper to get that madman... if he still wants to ride with us, then he's more than welcome." She shook her head again. "Crazy bastard..."

[Author Roy]

Planet Earth; Unknown City, Unknown District; St. Anwyll's Hospital; August 26, 8:57 p.m., 2010 A.D.

Boss Roy woke up almost immediately, his eyes shooting open to the painful white of a hospital. Only it was less white and more a conglomeration of grays, and light blues and pinks and greens mixed in with white.

He took note of the fact that he was in a hospital bed, dressed in a hospital gown, and with none of his familiar clothing around him.

"The hell... where am I!?" He frowned as his head suddenly started hurting viciously, and then turned and hopped out of the bed, ignoring the beeping of the equipment that had been hooked up to him.

He walked over to the curtain that was separating him from another patient, and opened it, seeing...