(I apologize for my absentee status.) "Come, fast." The cat rushed through the portal, vanishing through the other side. Obsidian watched him. "I am expecting a trap. I am not entirely sure this cat isn't the trap itself." He followed it through, his eye's lighting up the portal slightly as he went through. "I don't see how he's the model creature to represent nature. Do any of you understand it? At all?" Tricorna followed him quickly.
"Trap... not a trap... who cares? The sooner we go get the old fool, the sooner we can deal with the Master and finally put an end to this whole mess." Nightshade shook her head in annoyance and flew through the portal.
Sihana, the oldest and wisest of the Divines, raised an eyebrow after watching the others go through the portal. Tyberthia wasted no time, walking through the portal soon after the others went in. Sihana flew into the portal as it soon closed behind her.
Resting in the void between the Mortal Realm and the Elder Realm, the Destroyer opened his eyes and grinned. It was almost his turn to take the stage. He already knew that the storytellers intended for him to lose, but he had no intention of going out quietly, and he certainly was not going out alone. Soon. Soon he would make his move, and his enemies would burn.
On the other side of the portal was a small room, like a library. All the books seemed to be glowing in some way though, with varying patterns on their spines. This was the only lighting in the room as the ceiling seemed to extend endlessly upwards, the books appearing more like stars farther up. On the other wall, Serketh was hanging bruised and injured severely. Each of his limbs, including the four black chitn legs coming from his back, were shackled to the wall. He was positioned over a small table of devices. "It's about time, kids. I take it that sadistic knowledge hunter cartoon is dead? Heh... Good riddance." Serketh spoke without lifting his battered head. The cat ran up to him, and jumped onto the table. "Lillith and swords in other room, you help them first." Serketh smiled and lifted his head, showing that one of his eyes was gone from its socket, and his fangs were extended out of his mouth. "Ah. I almost forgot, your real prize for coming here. Nightshade... Sorry for your loss. I'll wait. I'm happy to know he isn't returning, at least. I have to warn you though, he has a lot more to his dark side than you'd think... and his ally is still somewhere. Maybe here, maybe murdering our friends. Have fun!" His smile became large and heavily sarcastic as he turned towards one of the bookcases. "That one's fake."
Sihana and Tyberthia reappeared through the portal as they both landed gently on the ground to what appeared to be a library not long after the others arrived. The hair's on their coats went up instantly the moment the touched the ground, they did not let their guard down. "You feel that?" Sihana replied as she took out the Yukobana, "Glad that I'm not the only one..." Tyberthia replied instantly as Moonsaber was also unsheathed. The two of them looked around the area, pacing slowly as a invisible threat loomed closer. Sooner or later, the 'dark side' Serketh spoke about was going to appear.
"Lillith... the one from the maze?" Silver had told Nightshade of his ill-fated hunt for Serketh, and of the unusual mare and even more unusual cat that he had met within the corrupt god's manor. Lillith was not her concern, but if the swords were there... "Fine. I'll be be back for you soon." The false bookcase vanished and Nightshade walked into the next room. The room was empty, save for a small table that held her father's swords, and an unhappy looking mare chained to the wall. Wordlessly, Nightshade grabbed the swords and used them to slice through Lillith's chains. The freed mare fell to the floor, and Nightshade walked out of the room and returned to Serketh. Eight more swipes of the blades, and he was free, too.
A blaring horn echoed in the room, quickly followed by a calm voice. "Serketh has been freed. This means that I, The Spirit, have been slain. All units are to leave the facility and report to location X. The meeting ground for the gods before the final battle. I would like to say thank you to all my monstrosities for their service, and I would also like to thank Serketh and his minions for setting off this alarm. Please think of me when you return to your camp to find it overrun with monsters." The voice cut off and the ground vanished beneath them. Before they even started to fall though, the ground was replaced with a thick, non-sticky webbing. Serketh stood up on the table he had landed on once freed. His empty eye socket was surrounded by 3 smaller eyes, and his clothing reformed around him into it's unaltered state. "Come on then. Let's get this over with."
Sihana nodded as she raised her hoof to her side and formed a portal back to the main camp. Tyberthia was not exactly pleased upon hearing that the main camp would be overrun by the last of the monsters the Spirit had left behind. "Tricorna, Sihana, everyone. While it might seem unlikely, if any of us are to be killed during this final battle, I would just like to say that it's been an honor and priviledge serving alongside all of you. And for Tricorna for being the most wonderful woman of my life. Now, let's end this." Tyberthia went into the portal first, wasting no time in dealing with the final minions that were left behind by the Spirit. To him, it almost seemed like a thank you gift for ending the Spirits wicked life.
Nightshade rushed through the portal in time to see Venquis finish off the last of the Spirit's minions. The camp was in ruins, and dead and wounded ponies lay among the bodies of the monsters. They had fought hard, but the monsters had caught them completely by surprise. Hope flew up to meet Nightshade. Her hair was matted with blood and clinging to the left side of her face. She had been struck by a monster's claws, slicing her face down to the bone and destroying her left eye. In her remaining eye, Nightshade could see tears, and her voice quavered as she spoke. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I couldn't beat it by myself... It was going to kill me... and then Hemlock... he... he..." She took a deep breath, blinked away her tears, and continued. "He saved me. He led the creature away from me, and gave me a chance to attack it from behind. I tried. I tried so damned hard to finish it quickly, but I just wasn't fast enough. Hemlock... is dead. I failed." The news hit Nightshade like a ton of bricks. The Timber-Wolf had been her best friend for years, and now he was gone. It didn't seem real. Still, she needed to stay calm. Now wasn't the time for mourning. Placing her hoof on Hope's soldier, she spoke softly. "This wasn't your fault. Ponies... and wolves... die in war. You just need to make sure his sacrifice meant something." Nightshade brushed the blood-matted hair away from Hope's ruined eye, and healed it as best she could. She could already feel her powers waning. "Come with me. We need to tend to the wounded."
"These are all distractions. Tending to the wounded? Meaningless. If we don't kill the master soon, it's over." Serketh looked over the small group. "We all knew it would end with just us. All these creatures. All these other warriors. Just the Master stalling. We have two monsters to finish off, and our small period of time closes each second. I'm going to head out to finish our job. It's the only thing we can do for the greatest balance in our world." Tristana turned to him and quickly scolded him. "How dare you insinuate that we leave all of these ponies for dead! How could that possibly be for the greater of our the world? How do we even stand against him without a couple hundred other gods, who just the master's minions took out!" Obsidian spoke out quietly "I think we are probably better than them... That is why we have not lost. I think he may be right. Only we can stand against him, and our time is nearly out." He sighed. "I hate to agree with him, but it is for the best."
Sihana flew over to Nightshade and Hope. "Physical injuries can be treated, but emotional injuries take more time to heal. I'm sorry for your loss, you have my utmost sympathy." Sihana said as she placed a hoof on Hope's face, which caused Hope's injuries to heal almost instantly. "Actually, I believe I could bring him back. But doing so would take precious time." -------------------------------------------- Meanwhile... The Master was in the Nexus, the heart of the omniverse. The only ground was empty squares that seemed to be joined together with a neon blue light from each corner, bright enough to be seen but not enough to cause anything. There was no other form of land anywhere, no mountains, no lakes, no blue sky. What passed as a sky was an obsidian black sky with multicolored galaxy's dotted around the landscape. The Master, in his brilliant divine appearing white armor, walked towards nothing until the squares began to form steps leading to a single podium, containing a orb the size of a tennis ball that glowed with a rainbow light. He had done it, the source of ultimate power. Once he had it's power, all of creation was his. The orb levitated with every step he made, higher and higher until it met him where his eyes were. The Master began to chant as it began to spin around him, slowly picking up speed until the orb suddenly stopped as The Master was hit with a surge of energy. Within moments, the orb turned black and fell to the ground, shattering like glass before disintegrating. The Master said nothing as he began to experience changes within him. He had accomplished his goal, all he had to do was wait for his opponents to arrive.
Nightshade shook her head. "Some things cannot be undone... even by gods. There are other worlds than these, Sihana. My friends... my family... I will see them again, in another time and place. For now, we need to focus on..." Nightshade was interrupted by a massive explosion that sent her, Hope, and Sihana flying. The Destroyer appeared in the center of the firestorm, laughing maniacally. "BOOM! Goddess in the corner pocket! Rack 'em up again, Larry, I ain't done yet!" Soaring over the camp, the Destroyer burned everything in sight. Tents, weapons, supplies, the bodies of the fallen... the only things he spared were the ponies that still lived. When he was finished, he addressed the gods and goddesses. "Before we begin, I'm going to give you one chance. Only one. Open a portal to Canterlot. Order your troops to take the wounded and leave this place. You know as well as I that they are nothing more than pawns, fated to die fighting the Master. The thing is, I don't much care for fate, so I intend to change it. These ponies are going to survive... or I will kill them all myself."
Sihana was sent flying before she managed to stop herself from crashing into a cliff-face. Tyberthia, out of instinct, took out Moonsaber and got into a stance before putting away a few seconds later. Sihana landed next to Tyberthia as the two of them nodded before looking at the other Gods, looking at the ponies below them. A moment later, Tyberthia raised his hoof and opened a sizable portal next to the camp. "There's already been enough blood." Tyberthia said. "We're not sacrificing other gods and their champions to make a point. They're free to leave." Once ponies began to return back to the Mortal Realm while the Gods overseen their safety, another portal opened next to the group, revealing Midnight in full armor as he walked through with a great sword, along with Plague's scythes near his belt. "Crimson and Ocean has been freed from thirty years of imprisonment in Tartarus after Plague kidnapped their souls and tortured them. They are assisting with the rebuilding progress." Midnight said. "It's good to see you all again...." before looking upwards to see the Destroyer. "And...you as well."
The wave of energy from the explosion seemed to ignore Serketh's presence as it passed over him. "Ah good. It's about time he showed his face." Serketh pulled out a small circle of daggers from the air. "Let's have some fun. After all, I've been trapped for most of this chapter of our story." He flicked the circle towards the destroyer and the blades flew out in a wave towards him. Tricorna (sorry about messing up her name recently, whoops) guided the injured through the portal, alongside Obsidian who felt awful about what he had said, and was immediately trying to forget it.
The Destroyer laughed, and swatted Serketh aside. "Really? You would try to stop me? I am Destruction incarnate! I am the manifestation of a rage and hatred beyond your comprehension! You... you filthy, vile, corrupt, thing... you are the disease of this world! This world was meant to be peaceful! You wormed your way into the minds of these ponies, and for what?! For your own amusement? The corruption that you so happily spread has cost countless lives and caused centuries of misery!" The Destroyer's voice became a snarl, and he continued his tirade against all assembled. "You all think me evil, but what of you?! You so-called gods and goddesses allowed this wretched worm to poison the world that you were supposed to protect! You're just as guilty as he is!" (In case it wasn't clear, the Destroyer doesn't much care for Serketh.)
Tyberthia looked at the Destroyer dead in the eye. "Despite that we are some of the most powerful beings in the omniverse, we still have our flaws and weaknesses that make us very much like the mortals we protect. We act as parents and mentors to the less fortunate. Even gods and goddesses make mistakes. What about you Destroyer?" The Ryborian god of war piped up. "What makes you special? What makes you believe that the Master is doing what he is doing, that you serve him instead of assisting us in defeating him? As we speak, the Master is preparing to end us all and conquer the entirety of the Omniverse. If we do nothing now, there will be no more gods, nothing would even come close to him. And once he's acomplished what he want's, what is he going to do with you? He's going to kill you and strip you of your power, that's what." Tyberthia looked at him. "Serketh believed he was doing the right thing once upon a time. At least he's admitted to the mistakes he has made. If you truly believe in saving the lives of the innocent. Then please, come with us and help finish what The Master started."
Serketh crashed into a barely standing tent, it collapsing on him. He stood up and threw the pieces of cloth to the side. "Did I ever think it was the right thing? I don't even remember, I've been doing it so long just because it was what I'd always done that I don't remember why I started in the first place..." He was distracted in thought for a second. He looked around the camp quickly before turning back to the destroyer.
The Destroyer shook his head. "Help you? No. I have seen this world as should be... a peaceful place where ponies don't have to live in fear. A place where violence is a last resort, rather than a first instinct. A place that none of us are worthy to be a part of." A flaming axe appeared in his hand, and he slowly advanced on the group. "I'm going to destroy you all, and then I'm going to destroy the Master. I will wipe every trace of your existence from this Equestria. I will seal this reality away from the Mundane..." Nightshade's eyes widened. "No! How can you possibly know about that? Only a fool would..." "...Do exactly what you intend to do." The Destroyer glared at her. "Have the uncorrupted princesses, the last remnants of this world's link to Equestria Prime, cast the 'fail-safe' spell over the entire world. Return everything to as it should be, and then..." "...Make it so this world can never be manipulated and corrupted by humans again." Nightshade finished for him. "This is not Equestria Prime! This universe has a place for the rogue elements! Ryborians, Kirins, Deer... they've no place in world you intend to create! If you somehow succeed, entire races will be wiped from existence! The Changelings will never become peaceful! The spell must be altered to fit this world, or the results will be catastrophic!" The Destroyer shook his head, and continued walking towards the group. "A necessary sacrifice for the good of this world. Removing the tainted reminders of human interference will make it easier to seal off the link." He snarled, and lifted the axe. "Enough talk! I don't owe you an explanation! NOW BURN!" The axe struck the ground, causing a massive explosion. A wave of fire spread in all directions, rushing at the Gods and Champions that remained on the battlefield.
Tyberthia hit the ground quickly as he activated a bubble shield spell that allowed the flames to simply travel over the group without harm. A moment later, Tyberthia launched himself towards The Destoryer, with Moonsaber fully charged as it crackled with rainbow colored lightning. Midnight did not take much longer to hesitate, taking his greatsword and rushing towards his enemy. Sihana looked at the rest of the group as the Yukobana appeared out of thin air. "He seeks to destroy us and is no longer at the point of redemption. We must kill him." Sihana said before looking at the opponent with a hateful yet somewhat calm glare before vanishing from sight."
