Catastrophe

This story will integrate many characters, of many players.

Yes.

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On the secluded planet of Ibok, it was rainy, torpid, and misty. Towering peaks and crags rose amongst deep ravines, whilst forests desperately clung to any substanital ledges. It was a peaceful night, without even an outlaw fleeing arrest to disrupt the tranquility. Everything was in its proper place, and none of the native fauna had to kill or die, that night.

Understandably, Loki found this outrageously boring. "You're telling me," he mused, kicking a rock into the abyss, "that this planet is host to an incredible power, and yet, there is not a single native capacity to protect it?" Off to the side, Tyrigosa nodded; observing the runes flickering in and out of existence above a cracked stone's aura. Loki huffed, "Well, that's just no fun at all." He hurled a bolt of chaos energy across the divide. The explosion sent a mountain crumbling into the darkness, as well as a few centuries' worth of trees, and untold generations of living creatures; all snuffed out by one blast. It served to ease Loki's boredom, in some small degree.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes upon him. Twisting spindles of anticipation crawled under his skin, as his master stepped out of the gloom briefly. "I would like to remind you," Malygos said calmly, "that we are not the most popular group of individuals, and that your brand of destruction is easily recognizable. Kindly do not make our presence known so - ...Soon..." The sound of an engine, drawing ever nearer, led him to give pause. He suddenly threw his cloak through the air, using sorcery to extend it in a veil over the trio. Above them, a scarlet ship flew by, low and at a slow speed. It was the Desperado. As the group watched, the ship circled around, and took off after a 270-degree turn.

Malygos was about to retract his cloak, when Tyrigosa raised a hand to caution him. High above, a truly mammoth golden ship, decorated with crimson yin and yang symbols, made haste to escape its pursuers. Lo and behold, it was revealed to be tailed by none other than the Ironclad, and a curiously familiar ship of similar size, but built like a stealth bomber. After three, four, five minutes, when there was absolutely no sign of another ship, Malygos finally reverted his cloak to normal. Tyrigosa said, "We're close to our contact. We just need to keep to this path." She forged ahead, unafraid of the rainslicked stone and treacherous roots. Neither Malygos nor Loki held fears, either, and thus they followed with all due haste.

Soon, after circling halfway around the mountain and backtracking at least four times, the group found themselves at the beginning of steps; hewn out of the mountain. The group began to climb, but the steps extended high up the mountainside. To Loki's vocal consternation, they found themselves at a landing, and with yet more stairs extending past the line of sight. However, when they finally reached the top, their perseverence was rewarded. Whether or not they liked said reward was another matter entirely.

The steps stopped at a small field of gray, withered grass, before a sizable cave. Set amongst the grass were ugly, demented gargoyle-styled lawn gnomes, and overgrown bushes of spiny black roses hemmed the stone walkway into the cave. Within were two absurd 'trees' which seeped lumiescent ooze, and the house was made of chipped black and gray stone. Malygos said simply, "I fear for the sanity of whomever chooses to reside in such a den of hideous visage." Nonetheless, he crossed the distance - ignoring Tyrigosa's frantically whispered warnings - and rapped his knuckles twice on the wooden door.

Whoever or whatever was to emerge from that door, there would be no escape. The pewter claw of a doorknob, clutching an amethyst 'eye,' was already turning. The darkness within the house was being revealed...

Looks good! Like the use of my characters.

Thank ya so much.

Look who's narrating Chapter 2.

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I am quite certain that you would like to see what uncanny being has greeted that hammy twit Malygos. However, there are multiple facets to this story, and Malygos is merely one of three stars. I am a bit player. That's how it always turns out, it seems.

I am Professor Kokonoe, Chairman of the Bebop II's Bureau of Research and Development. That means I am Queen B###h of the ship's labs. If you don't like it, take it up with Vi. Trust me, her greatest pleasure in life is smacking dissidents around. Anywho, I'm sure you're wondering why everybody and his brother are on this planet. For one thing, this singular event in our Timeline is a bit, well, hinky. God, how to put this...We're experiencing one of a good three or four dozen ways this could play out. Sometime down the line, our Timeline will multiply again. However, we're experiencing the Main Timeline - only two or three of every set of divergences will actually live on. Most of them end in total ruination.

So, yeah. What makes this rainy little planet so special? Funny thing, that. I have no idea. None of us do! It's like Raftel, from One Piece. "You want my treasure? All you have to do is find it! I left it at that place!" No one knows what the treasure on Ibok is, or even whether it's a treasure at all. The only hint any of us have gotten is references to a "haunted darkling" in some ancient reports from travelers, but not even the appearance is referenced. Whoever the "darkling" is, they were either reviled, or their desire to be alone was honored.

Anywho, the Bebop II has landed on one of the few flat expanses on the whole planet. I'm doing scans for magical energy, distortions in space, etc., etc. Well there's something. That is one huge-### disturbance in the force. And it is - ... ... ...Coming from orbit. And I know exactly what this is. Welp. I am afraid I just became too busy to narrate.

Ladies and gentlemen, pray for us. The engineer of the greatest caper in the known Universe is on her way. And I do believe hell is coming with her.

I corrected a mistake in Chapter 1.

Now, onto Chapter 3 - yet be warned: expositional onslaught ahead.

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Whatever Malygos was expecting, it was not a female with lavender fur, violet spots, slightly manic violet eyes, and a long; muscular; plumed tail. She had narrow, deft fingers, long, straight indigo hair with a stark streak of white in the bangs, and wore a black and red dress with frills around the collar, cuffs, and hem of the skirt. What bothered Malygos was the woman's height. No, she wasn't a diminutive waif; quite the opposite actually.

She stood at a monstrous height, head and shoulders above Malygos. It also occurred to Malygos as the woman stroked her chin that either hand had six fingers. She suddenly folded out some creases in her dress, and smiled. "I'm glad you could join me, Lord Malygos," she said in a cheerful voice. "I couldn't tell if it was you, but the Prophecy foretold that you would be joined by the Prince of Demons and the Noble Dragon. Please, come inside. Time is short, and you need to know your part before the Reckoning is upon us." She ushered Malygos in, allowed Loki and Tyrigosa to pass her, and closed the door behind them.

It was pitch dark. Suddenly, deep red-orange lights lit up around the room, revealing several tables and bookcases. The room was a mess of tomes, ledgers, and free documents, as well as eerie, leering paintings, and abstruse statues. With a gesture, the woman levitated a book over to her hand. As she flipped through its pages rapidly, Malygos and Tyrigosa waited patiently. However, Loki was thoroughly disgusted with the lack of action on this little outing, and was considering blowing the wall out of this room just to feel demonic again. He seethed, "So, would you recommend that little novel for us to check out at our bookstore? I am thoroughly interested in what is so important that you're looking for." In an effortless gesture, he examined a tear on the sleeve of his coat as Tyrigosa glared at him. When he was certain that Malygos wouldn't admonish him, he smiled at Tyrigosa like the imp he was.

They were both interrupted by the abrupt laugh that their host gave. It was shrill and edged, and she seemed to have trouble bringing it to an end. At last, however, she looked at the trio. "Where are my manners, where are my manners," she managed to say despite the ebbing chuckles of mirth. "My name is Delphine. I am looking for the prophecy referenced in one of my study tomes. We were all made to memorize the prophecy, for whichever one of us would live to see Him arrive." When she at last found the page she was looking for, she handed it over to Malygos. Admittedly perturbed by her six-fingered hands as he accepted the tome, Malygos looked at the page. Tyrigosa and Loki took a peek, as well.

In the center of the page was a richly-dyed picture, depicting three central figures: a mage in purple robes, some kind of silver-armored warrior, and a longhaired man in beige and turquoise robings. Below that, it read: The First of Them will come to the Last of Us with the Prince of Fiends and the Noble Dragon. The Proud Deserter and the Son of the Trees will meet to fight him. Our Forebearers will Rise by the First's hand, and shall Avenge the 14,999,999 our Brothers and Sisters who could not see this day. The One who will See that Day, you must not die, no matter what, or our Forebearers shall be Doomed to become That Which Is Despised, for ever, and ever, and ever. After the group had mulled over this, Malygos handed the book back to Delphine. She closed the book, and set it down among the mess strewn upon a table.

She then began to speak. "We were created from the Zafara, a very old race who are known for having an easily-altered genetic code, by infusing segments of our Forebearers' genetic sequence into our own sequence. That is why I am tall, and have these hands." She wiggled her right hand's six fingers, cackling at the way Loki's mouth twitched. "We were created to continue their work, researching magic, alchemy, and thaumaturgy," Delphine elaborated. "However, all of us had different lifespans. Some of us only lived a few months, while many lived on for millenia, or longer. I was the only one who was accidentally gifted with natural immortality: you are looking at the form I had when I emerged from my cylinder, 13.6 million years ago. It is only because I have my meditation pod that I can maintain the better part of my sanity - those who were not compatible with one went mad after two million years or so." She paused to allow the trio to digest the information.

At last, Delphine continued. "Our Forebearers were known by a name we - I am not permitted to utter during their slumber. That slumber was entered so as to hone their power, which was pure and mighty. They were a small race, due to their origins: their civilization rose and flourished on a planet near a dying star. The bloated red giant devoured two other planets in their system, and began to roast their own. More than half of their number died out, yet those who lived were made naturally hardy. Thus, they survived long enough to build four Legacy Ships - The Father's Providence, Onward To Eternity, We Shall Overcome, and Hope Undying. They went in four different directions, using solar sails of truly massive size, and lasers powered by dark energy. Generations lived their lives on those ships, and in the case of Onward To Eternity and We Shall Overcome, they were destroyed by gamma ray bursts from pulsars. The Father's Providence made it safely to one of the settlements of the Ethereals, where they shared their knowledge, and set up a hub of both mercantile and scholarly activity.

"On Ibok, our planet here, Hope Undying landed," Delphine continued. "They had faced the fading dredges of a gamma ray burst, just close enough for their ship to be devastated and for those outside of the pods to be devastated. Those preserved in cryogenic pods, themselves, were killed by the malfunctioning systems. Thus, the twenty-two Forebearers on Hope Undying began a process to make sure their knowledge survived. They first designed armored shells, bound up in magical glyphs, to protect themselves, and ensure that they could live for an indefinite period of time without succumbing to the radiation. With a perfected artificial intelligence left to take care of their ship, as well as the 15,000,000 creations protected deep within the lab complex, they began to build the Vessels. All of the twenty-two Forebearers who lived now reside in those Vessels. I watched my entire people die around me, for the sakes of this day; for our creators to awaken from their sleep of ages." She gazed down at Malygos evenly, hands folded before herself. Nothing more was said, for a long while.

Then, Malygos began to speak, himself. "I will presume," he began cautiously, "That this is the reason there is nothing on Ibok to protect the 'great power?' For the 'great power' protects itself?" Delphine nodded, smiling slyly. "And thus, should we awaken them, we will be able to glean from their power and wisdom?" More nodding, yet now, Delphine seemed to have another thought gnawing at her. Malygos frowned, waiting for her to speak.

Delphine whispered, "I tested the glyphs they had used...On a local creature. It outlived its siblings, indeed, yet - " She put a hand over her mouth, unable to continue for a moment. However, the expectant looks brought her to finish her thought:

"My tests confirmed that, by this time, our Forebearers are maddened beasts."

In the skies above Ibok, a deadly chase was taking place. The Ironclad was hotly pursuing the Geomancer, in addition to an unknown ship. Said unknown ship would also periodically launch salvos of energy missiles at the Ironclad, which required Sonia to peek out and take down with quick blasts of her power. Within, the crew was trying to focus on following the Geomancer - it was inordinately quick and agile, for its size, build; everything about it made for what should have been a slow, sluggish craft.

Within, a certain Founder of the Platinum Lantern Corps., and Makuta Anima of Iron, sighed tiredly. "I thought we were just going to retrieve that electronic map," he mused, "and instead, we get swept up into a conspiracy. Who even makes a map that can't be physically duplicated anymore? That's just childish and selfish. Do we still not have the specs on that ship?" He only got a shake of the head from Hokagetsu, who was trying to get a lock on the Geomancer. Ynot sighed, and made his way to the docks. None of the other Makuta Anima questioned him as he left. They had the pressing matter of avoiding the mystery ship's assault to contend with.

Suddenly, a missile of silvery-white energy rocketed out of the ship. The Geomancer extended a massive grappler arm, swinging to knock the missile down, but found itself caught. It began to slow down, as Ynot used his own strength; that of a Pakari; and his control over all metals to keep ahold of the ship. However, when he felt the only warning - the metal snapping and beeping and reeking of ozone - Ynot used a lever from his Ring to propel himself away. A split second later, the hand of the grappler arm screamed to life with electricity, and it began to rise towards Ynot. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning leapt out.

Ynot dived away, but found the lightning redirecting at an angle to follow him. He formed a sphere from his Platinum Ring of Pride around himself, and made sure to close his eyes tight. The impact of the lightning bolt still seared his eyes behind their lids, but by force of will, he ignored the reflex to open them until the attack had faded. Opening his eyes, he collapsed the sphere into a tiny ball atop his Ring, and threw a punch towards the Geomancer.

Abruptly, another arm unfolded, and with another bolt of lightning, caused the sphere to explode with a huge, platinum shockwave in mid air. Now, the Geomancer had come to a stop, and had unfolded all four of its grappler arms. The Ironclad had caught up, and the third ship jetted up and around. It floated above, yet tilted down; almost as if it were watching the proceedings. Ynot was about to attack, when he suddenly felt waylaid by a familiar sensation.

He had felt this once before, from Zev, when they were training...But no, no. This was of an entirely different order than the power he had shown that day. Of course, Zev had grown into a stronger warrior, but this was something entirely unlike a warrior, or even an intelligent being. It was like a timeless power that just existed. Ynot looked up.

A circle of light had appeared in the clouds. Nearby, a huge shape surrounded by a spherical energy field was levitating down. The field contorted, then became a pair of massive blades. It was...An enormous platform, housing a tree? But this tree was like a living being, bound in chains as it was. It was crying for freedom. A distant shout on the platform, muffled by the winds.

Then, the world exploded into flames.

On a damp plateau, the Desperado was hovering down to rest. As it came to a stop, within, Hilda, Zev, Namah, Gene, Jim, Aisha, and Suzuka began to unbuckle from their seats. Melfina's navigation tank receded into the floor, as Gilliam cautioned, Be forewarned. The Geomancer has been spotted in the area. I fear for my future prospets. Gene muttered in his usual lack of patience with the A.I. Melfina took a moment to 'talk' to Gilliam, as Ryoko and Yoruichi emerged from deeper within the ship. Ryoko was looking green in the fashion she only attained by getting blitzed.

The group exited the ship, to meet up outside. Approaching the group, Yoruichi vainly attempted to convince Ryoko to sober herself up. In the meantime, Hilda looked the group over. "I don't know what the Geomancer could possibly want here," she said bluntly, "but whatever it is, we can't allow them to get this treasure. Before, it was a matter of our livelihood. Now, it's a matter of interstellar security. We have to find the 'treasure' first. That's it." At the solemn looks all around herself, Aisha scowled. When no one spoke, she shrieked and stomped into the center of the group.

"Look at all of you, whimpering and afraid," she said, gesturing dramatically around the group. "I swear, I will never understand you!" Aisha began to exaggeratedly pantomime distress. "It's always, 'Oh nooo, it's too difficult!' 'Oh nooo, their ship is so large!', or 'OH NOOOOO, they've got directed energy weaponry, and all we have are meleé armaments!' A Ctarl-Ctarl would never shrink from such a challenge!!" She pumped her fist, disregarding the smiles all around her. "This is the time to be proven, in a trial by fire, and become the heroes whose names echo throughout all of time, forever and ever and ever!!" She seemed about to go on, before Yoruichi flash stepped behind her and placed a hand over her mouth.

In her usual short, concise way, Suzuka said, "If we hesitate, we will grow old. If we turn back, we will die. We can only live by walking forward and never stopping. Would you agree, Aisha?" A muffled noise of confirmation was all that Aisha could manage. The group shared a good laugh; even Hilda cracked a smile.

"Of course," Gene said, devoid of any worry. "We've stomped those crazy Taoist pirates at every turn, so far. Hell, we turned one or two of 'em to our own side! Who's to say that we can't defeat their head honcho, with all of us together?" The group nodded in agreement. With her mouth uncovered, Aisha gave a short laugh of triumph.

"Um, excuse me," Melfina said, "but Gilliam has detected a large source of energy up ahead!"

The group all turned to face the inner expanses of the plateau. Goodness, its area was massive.

The mist began to recede, and, and there was...