BZPB

<User HQ>

User Kon: Well, now I have to find another computer.

*User Kon goes into User MY's room and boots up his computer because he is nowhere to be found*

*User Kon then checks the RPG and sees that Quolas is in the wrong place*

User Kon: Damn lag.

*User Kon teleports aboard Lalli Cain's ship, grabs Quolas, and drops him off at the empty Camp on Malchior IV before anyone else sees him*

*Quolas falls unconscious*

[ Hitherto Unnamed Mesa Planet: ]

On a strikingly red, dusty planet with an orange-tinted sky, a distinctive ship has touched down. It's largely fashioned of green and dark gray metal, with bubbles of some kind of sunset orange glass for windows and such; the metal struts which house them seem almost to resemble teeth. Atop the entire ship is an array of curved, tapering panels, overall resembling the roof of the Sidney Opera House.

Out of the ship have emerged a group of four hunters. The leader, a draconic young woman with freckled skin and burnished red hair, yawns loudly. Stretching her arms, as well as her black-streaked white tails and wings, she quirks her horned head at the peculiar fellow next to her. This new, fellow hunter introduced himself as an 'iron Agori,' but that really did nothing to elucidate the situation, frankly. Shrugging it off, she leaned in to give him a lopsided, but quite bright smile. More in an attempt to strike up conversation than anything else, she asked the iron Agori, "You ready to hunt beasties in the big leagues, yeah?"

~ ~ ~

[ Liquid-Metallicon, Hive of Scum and Villainy-R-Us: ]

In one of the larger, seedier docks of the planet, a distinctive ship has come in for a landing. Fashioned of ruddy rust red and ochre yellow metals, the leading two-thirds of its elongated hull are guarded by smoothly curved plates. The heavy industrial bolts on some parts are very visible, as are the extensive welding lines creating an airtight seal. Three raised ridges curve laterally around the front, and over the reinforced glass windows of a dingy yellow hue. The ship also appears to also be bristling with half-concealed weapons, such as turrets and missile platforms. Notably, around the rear of the ship, the armor plating is no longer nearly as uniform; dark gray, almost black metal forms into many ridged, lobed structures, thrumming loudly as they give off an eerie red glow from within. They strongly resemble some kind of industrial engine, as the ship shudders its way down for a haphazard landing.

Inside, the single-race crew are milling about, checking for damage. They all strongly resemble something between a fennec fox and a spiky lizard, with a bit of orc or goblin thrown in. Where not covered in coarse fur, they have rough scales with spikes; notably, their long tails are spiny and lizard like, save for a large tuft at the end. They also have unkempt heads of hair at varying lengths. All are garbed in rugged, dirty, oil-stained armor of both cloth and tempered plates, whilst carrying guns and other weapons to match. The carrot-orange haired female leader is bellowing, "Who the hell was behind that shoddy landing!? Bring them here so I can pistol-whip them!" The volume of her shouts immediately escalates with, "Double-time, slackers: I don't have all day!!" Satisfied that her crew is now moving quickly enough, she goes to checking her equipment meticulously for any defects.

<Atuar Sadiares>

*Before Zae can reply, a blinding flash of light erupts in the middle of the plaza, distracting her*

*The light is replaced by a figure who wears a suit of armor that looks like like this, but with different insignias, a different matter cannon strapped to each arm, and no cloth under its belt*

*The figure points at Zae and powers up the cannon on the same arm*

DU Monarch: Stay... still.

*Some hidden instinct in Zae is triggered by DU Monarch's threat, so she reaches inside her armored suit and produces a thin, lightweight compound rifle, which she assembles and activates in seconds*

*With just as much precision, she fires a single Teruganium bullet at DU Monarch's head*

*Despite the bullet's composition, it ricochets off the warrior's head*

*Zae is left momentarily confused by her failure, but this moment is all her enemy needs to trap her in a stasis field*

DU Monarch: Bad girl...

*DU Monarch shoots a teleportation ray at Zae, which captures her and teleports her to the UG*

*Two other Terugans nearby, who were covered in cuts and bruises, stare open-mouthed at DU Monarch*

*DU Monarch notices them and smiles under his helmet*

DU Monarch: Two more from the list.

Kek & Lel: What?

*DU Monarch hits them both with the teleportation ray before teleporting away himself*

*Ray Vice is left to draw his own conclusions about what he just witnessed*

--------------------------

<Neo Z'traa>

*Before Xikila can respond, DU Monarch appears behind her, grabs her, and disappears with her*

--------------------------

<Kråvenhold>

Mortimer: Well, now I suppose we head our separate ways. My brother is still out there somewhere, and I won't rest until I find him! ...Or at least a change of clothes.

Linkara: Mmmm.

*Doug, Paul, and Spanha reach Malcolm's ship and knock on the hatch to be let in*

*Suddenly, there is a white flash of light behind them, and DU Monarch stands in its wake*

Spanha: Woah. Who are you?

Paul: It's John de Lancie! He came just in time for the interview!

DU Monarch: Wrong.

*DU Monarch fires a teleportation beam at Spanha, which teleports her to the UG*

*Paul screams*

Paul: We're in trouble, Doug! There's only one thing we can do!

Doug: ...What?

Paul: BLEND WITH ME.

Doug: WHAT?!

Paul: BLEND WITH ME, DOUG.

*Paul grabs Doug and stares into his soul*

*Doug screams, there is (yet another) flash of light, and one man stands where two men once stood*

Paug Lawker: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ACHIEVED! PREPARING TO PLANT SOME DEEP PLOTS IN YOUR ASS!

DU Monarch: Fascinating. Unfortunately, I don't need you.

*DU Monarch teleports away, leaving Paug Lawker to himself*

*Lawker spends the next few moments internally debating feminist issues*

--------------------------

<Lalli Cain's ship>

*Vyrrh stands up and points at where Quolas was sitting*

Vyrrh: Did anyone see that?

Arkhite: See what?

Vyrrh: There was a flash, and this smallish... figure appeared, and then he was gone!

*There is another flash behind them, but this one much brighter, followed by a voice*

*The two Toa turn around and see DU Monarch standing in the middle of the ship*

*Everyone in the cargo bay stands up and draws their weapons*

Micros: Identify yourself!

DU Monarch: Monarch. You're coming with me.

Micros: Unless you're here to fight Mazkertis... nah.

Kakamu: Monarch... that name sounds familiar...

*DU Monarch turns around*

DU Monarch: As does your voice... the voice of my master. Oh, he'll be pleased to see you.

*DU Monarch fires a teleportation beam at Kakamu, teleporting him to the UG*

*The Toa and Micros instantly open fire on Monarch, but their attacks simply wash over his armor, which is completely unaffected*

*DU Monarch starts whistling and firing his teleportation beam at random people inside the cargo bay*

*Ikhet, Etende, Muta and Masaharu are hit, and disappear with blue-green flashes*

*Vyrrh attempts to jump over him to hit him from behind, but he grabs her in mid air and shoots her with another ray*

*Arkhite puts his hands in the air to surrender, but DU Monarch hits him with the beam too*

*DU Monarch turns his teleportation cannon on Nohex, but the Toa of Hecks uses his power to make DU Monarch not give a heck about taking him. Because of this, DU Monarch moves on to Micros instead*

Micros: Oh HELL no!

*The Stelcropod charges an energy field and jumps on the face of DU Monarch's helmet to try and dig his way through*

*DU Monarch sighs and fires his teleportation ray at his own face: Micros is teleported away, but so is DUM's helmet*

*DU Monarch covers his face with one hand, but it can be seen that he is a human man with blonde hair and white skin*

DU Monarch: I'll be back for the rest.

*DU Monarch presses a button on his armour that teleports himself away*

*Nohex turns to you, the reader, and shrugs*

< Sapsa >

"Thank you, Lord Leviathan." replied Sefer, bowing her head respectfully. "I will be sure to make a similar request of my people."

She placed her hands in her pockets, and turned to leave, before looking backwards over her shoulder at him.

"Until next time."

At that, she teleported from the council chamber, re-materializing within her quarters on the Kusanagi. She doubled over, venting the saltwater content of her lungs over the gridded floor, coughing furiously as she did. She stood back up, her eyes watering from the exertion as she caught her breath. Lilith was standing in the doorway, her arms folded.

"You saw nothing." announced Sefer, embarrassed, and quickly regaining her composure. Lilith smiled, running up and hugging her; Sefer was only just able to avoid toppling over, but smiled, embracing Lilith. They pulled apart as Kira and Lucy entered, with the latter eating from a box of chow mein.

"Hey Seferoth." said Lucy, between mouthfuls. Kira frowned disapprovingly.

"It's just Sefer, Lucy." replied Sefer, pulling a towel from a cabinet and drying her hair off.

"Sure thing, Sefer Seferoth."

"Okay, that's one's slightly more clever, I'll admit." she replied, throwing the towel onto her bed. "You know, in most empires you could be executed for making fun of your Emperor's name in their presence."

"That's why I live in this one!" she replied, smiling. "Want chow mein?"

Sefer thought about it for a moment. "Sure." she said, as Lucy produced a fork from somewhere within her jacket and handed it to her. "So, what happened whilst I was away?"

"Cassius Calm - the, uh, prisoner who tried to attack you - well, he escaped. The steamroller we had in the engine room got dropped on someone. Got dropped on Cassius, sorry. But he still escaped. Then this weird dog-guy appeared, but Lilith did away with him. Tore a hole in the hull of the ship in doing so, but she did get rid of him. Then, uh, Gabriel Ascheron declared war on ZFT, the Dominion and just about everyone else in the universe. Prime Minister Gendo personally took the Divine Providence out of the shipyards about six months early to intervene, and now he's holding arbitration discussions with Malygos and Blackout themselves. Oh, and John Shepard escaped, crippling two ships in the progress and hijacking a third. The salvage operation was a success, by the way, but you... probably guessed that, by how I said Shepard had escaped. So, uh, yeah."

Sefer finished a mouthful of noodles, and dropped the fork into the box. "Well... Gendo's dealing with ZFT and the Dominion, and Shepard'll no doubt seek me out of his own volition when he's ready. I suppose Ascheron should be my first priority, then." she said, sighing. "Tell Zero to set a course for Kyras."

"Yes, Sir." replied Kira, saluting. Lucy frowned at his fanboyism, and followed him out of the room. Sefer walked over to her bed and collapsed backwards onto it, gazing up at the ceiling. Lilith came and sat next to her.

After a few seconds, Lilith pulled a face. "You should really take a shower."

"And let me guess, I should really let you join me?"

"That wasn't what I was thinking, but now you've mentioned it, that's a fantastic idea."

---

< The Divine Providence, Bridge >

"Captain Ginyu!" shouted one of the navigation officers, up to the Captain's command throne positioned high above the rest of the bridge. "Weapons fire off our starboard bow! There's a ship approaching at full speed!"

Ichigo Ginyu stood up. "Don't sound the alarm." he said. "We don't want to inconvenience the delegates." he added, his received pronunciation thick and clear. The captain of the Divine Providence was, perhaps, sixty or seventy years old, with a thick beard and mustache that covered most of his chest, a short, stocky build hidden under a huge greatcoat, the collar of which reached up to this ear, and a captain's hat with the imperial flag emblazoned in the center of it. His arm shot forwards, gesturing to the main viewscreen. "Prepare all forward railguns. If they don't stop - Fire!"

"Yes, Captain Ginyu!"

---

< Liquid-Metallicon >

The Covenant fell out of warp, cutting into the atmosphere and closing in on one of the many dockyards of the world. It was barely recognizable as the Takemikazuchi vessel it once was, with vast portions of hull covered in red, crystalline antidermis. It slid into a landing bay, its landing gear extending to bear its weight, and a hatch opening on the forwardmost gear from which Shepard emerged, clad in hooded desert robes to conceal his appearance. He jumped down, guiding the landing mentally through the connection he had with the crystalline antidermis worked into its circuitry, so that by the time it had touched down, he was already well within the port city.

He pushed through the mass of people, trying to recall the location of his destination from his memory - but having that, along with the rest of his personality, torn to shreds and then reassembled made such a task easier said than done.  He recognized a street corner, and turned down it. Memories began flooding back. He grinned, opening and closing his fist as the sensation of being human slowly, but surely, began to return. The doorway lay at the end of a narrow staircase leading underground; as he carefully walked down it, the music from inside the club could be heard. He pushed open the door, and a wave of cool air washed over him. The secret club known as "Indo Silver Club" was completely out of place with its given location, with an aesthetic consisting exclusively of black, tinted glass from which the floors and furniture were made from, illuminated by cool, blue strips of light running across the surfaces like circuitry. The club was filled with various assassins and mercenaries, as well as local dandies, tech-macaronis and cyber-yuppies,  all wearing far too much black latex to mention in detail. Shepard took off his desert cloak and hung it up by the door, and stepped into the club, wearing the most fitting outfit he could find aboard the Covenant; a leather jacket and sunglasses.

He crossed the club, inspecting the DJ's podium; a blue-skinned man in a red and white letterman jacket was playing tonight - it wasn't who he was looking for. He pushed open a door at the rear of the club, entering a private lounge. Various women were huddled around two chairs, though they cleared as Shepard entered, revealing the chairs occupants; two androids, one with a silver helmet, and one with a gold helmet, both wearing sequin suits. Shepard removed his sunglasses.

"It's me. Shepard."

The robots looked to eachother, nodding silently, as the silver android gave a hand gesture to the women, who dispersed. leaving the room. They turned to look at Shepard, waiting for him to speak. Shepard gestured to himself, frowning.

"As you can see, I'm not exactly myself." he said. The gold robot nodded. "I need you two to forge me a new body. I'm not concerned about it resembling my old body - all it needs is to be combat spec, with no psychoceramic or psychoreactive alloys.  I'm probably going to be going up against a very powerful psychic, and I don't need my own body betraying me in a fight."

The robots looked to eachother, and nodded. The silver robot steepled his gloved hands, his head tilting to the side in an inquisitive gesture as he looked back to Shepard.

"For payment, I'm willing to part with the central computer core of my ship. It's Takemikazuchi-spec - the only of its kind in private hands. If you scrap it, you can sell the individual components on for the price of a small country, each - or if you reverse engineer it, you'll be producing the fastest, most responsive computer cores in the quadrant. What do you say?"

The robots looked to eachother once more, and nodded. They stood up, and got to work. One of the walls of the room fell away, revealing an advanced complex within. A skeletal frame was hovering horizontally in an array of hardlight rings. The two robots stood either side of it, hardlight interfaces similar to DJ equipment appearing before them, which they began to manipulate. Components began to digistruct around the frame as the two robots began constructing Shepard's new body. He grinned, leaving the robots to their work, and exiting the lounge, returning to the club.

<Malchior IV, Lalli Cain's Ship>

*Anzu jumps off the ship*

*Lalli Cain splutters*

Lalli Cain: "Woah, take it easy!"

*User Kon takes Quolas away*

D-Klak: "Wut?!"

*Suddenly, DU Monarch appears, and takes everyone away*

Me: No! No!

Bob: "Monarch?! Who the hell was that?!"

Nadle: "I don't know. The son of a Nar'Zathaa took them."

Me: We have to-

Nadle: "Klak, there's no point. We have no idea where they could be. For all we know, he could be working with Mazkertis."

*D-Klak rushes into the room that they are all in*

D-Klak: "What's going on in here?!"

Me: Someone's been kidnapping the Claws. Nadle, I'll listen to you, but after we figure out a battle plan against Mazkertis, I'm going out to find them.

*Lalli Cain's ship jumps to light speed*

---

<The Zodiark>

Figlio: "No, no, not Point Epsilon, Saskana. Sorry, I didn't make myself clear."

*The ship appears on Saskana*

---

<Saskana, Space>

*The Bahamut's attacks passed through the mysterious spaceship. The craft is about to slam into its target when it suddenly disappears. All those observing realize that it is just an apparition*

*Lalli Cain's ship arrives, along with (hopefully) the Zodiark*

*Lalli Cain sends a transmission to both the Bahamut and the Divine Providence*

Lalli Cain: "This is Lalli Cain, requesting permission to land on Saskana. If Malygos is in there, tell him Klak is with me."

---

<Liquid Metallicon, Slums>

Fourteen: "No time to talk!"

*Fourteen rushes away from Calm and Sachiel*

*The human knocking on Sachiel's door scratches his chin*

*Fourteen suddenly arrives, and points at him*

Fourteen: "You! YOU! Get off of this planet! You are not welcome here, Mazkertis!"

OOS: DUN DUN DUN!!!

---

<Liquid Metallicon, Sector Eight, Warehouse district>

*The dealer nods, and smiles*

Dealer: "I also have some nice infidium weapons we were able to smuggle. Interested?"

*Suddenly, a speeder bike slams into the skiff, and it explodes, knocking away the dealer and his bodyguards*

Hired Gun 1: "Uh, sir?! We're under attack!"

*They hear laughing in the distance. A blast of dark magic slams into one of the hired guns, flinging him into a set of boxes nearby.*

*A figure with silver armor and green skin dashes towards the remaining bodyguards. They fire their weapons at him, but he quickly dodges their bullets. He swings his broadsword into many of the hired guns, dispatching them in seconds. The guards are not killed, but are knocked out instead. He trips the dealer and aim his sword at his head. The figure looks at the Red Lady, and smiles*

*The Red Lady recognizes this individual, but....it was impossible....he's been dead for years!*

Akzer: "Nice to see you again, dear. Sorry to interrupt, but you have to give our friend his fair share of this deal!"

---

<Hitherto Unnamed Mesa Planet>

*The Iron Agori smiles, and nods*

Swazhan: "I sure am ready! This'll be fun!"

*He wipes a dirtied handkerchief on his long rifle*

Swazhan: "No time to waste here, we gotta get goin'."

*He nods at the other hunters and slowly walks away from the ship*

---

<Neo Z'traa>

*Caiaphus's eyes widen, but he does not say anything as he fears that the Vrai may react negatively*

Caiaphus: "Act, Ricochet. What do we do in this scenario?"

---

<Kråvenhold>

Linkara: "Kidnapping people, HMMM?!"

Paug Lawker: "INTRIGUE INTENSIFIES."

*Malcolm runs out*

Malcolm: "What the heck?!"

90s Kid: "Duuude! That was totally radical! Some mysterious guy came and totally took Spanha!"

*Bring the Pain Barry laughs*

Bring The Pain Barry: "You fools! You do not see what is about to come! This Pain will be.....UNIVERSAL!"

Spoony: "Oh, shut up!"

*He punches Barry, and knocks him out*

Mortimer: "Well then, what should we do?"

Linkara: "I say we split up to find our friend, and your brother! But first, I have to take 90s Kid home."

Paug Lawker: "YOUR SUGGESTION IS ADEQUATE, LINKARA. LET US ALL GET ON MALCOLM'S SHIP TO ENGAGE IN THIS DEEP PLOT."

*They all get on Malcolm's ship*

---

OOS: Waiting on DRJ, Nif, and Clay for the rest.

OOS: MUSICAL PROMPT

<Liquid Metallicon>


Clam and Sachiel round the corner, Calm's voluminous robes flapping as he came to a skidding halt, Sachiel stumbling along behind him. He looked straight up at Mazkertis, who had turned his head to look at Fourteen. "Ma-...M-...MAZKERTIS!" Calm's mouth opened wide with the angry shout that was tinged with fear. He pushed past Fourteen, his teeth gritted with determination and fury. He reached up slowly with one arm, and snapped it back down to his side, throwing his robes off in Mazkertis' direction.

"NOBLE...EIGHTFOLD...PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH!!!!"

Noble Eightfold Path materialised, the white energies swirling and filling the robes. Its corporeal form flickered more than before, burning brighter and more furiously. Calm took a wide stance, peddled his arms in arcs about his sides, forming an orb with his hands, holding it by his chin, one elbow high behind him, the other in front. NEP mimicked him movements with no lag. "MAZKERTIS! THIS STOPS HERE!" Calm pushed his hands forward, NEP replicating his movement; a wave of white energy poured forth, a glowing stream of forcefield that spiralled toward Mazkertis. The wizard spun, pulling the stream around him with one finger before pushing it back toward the trio. Calm swung an arm wide, NEP forming a forcefield bubble; Mazkertis' counter sheared through the buildings around them, creating scorching lines before exploding, showering everyone present in rubble and dust. Mazkertis stepped from the smoke, an aura of magical energy around him, whipping the dust into furious eddies and devils. Calm's face was shocked, before reforming to a furious grimace. "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~~!!!" The monk dove toward the wizard, NEP throwing a thousand punches, all of which bounced off of Mazkertis' magical sheilding. The wizard smirked beneath his hood, and flicked one long-nailed finger at Calm. The monk pinged back down the alley, NEP disappearing, his robes falling into a puddle. Calm impacted a heap of crates, smashing the wood into splinters before coming to rest in a crater in the wall. Blood was smeared over the brickwork.

-------------------------------

<Malchior IV, Bourba>

Dreis shrugs, grabs a whiskey from the counter, and follows Asled through the curtain at the back of the bar.

-------------------------------

AtSad

Ray: But... what?

------------------------------

<Liquid Metallicon>

*Mazkertis shook his head, and looked at Sachiel and Fourteen. Sachiel felt what was like a cold hand poking into his brain. Something was entering into his mind, and any guess would be that it was Mazkertis himself.*

Mazkertis: "Self-defense. I have no quarrel with either of you. I simply desire to be healed of my wounds."

*He looked at Sachiel with begging eyes*

Mazkertis: "My name is Mazkertis, and I am not from your universe. My quest is to rid all worlds of a great evil. I ask that you aid me."

<The Divine Providence>

*Blackout sighs*

Blackout: The war was started by the Dominion, if I remember correctly. You are no victim. The Saskanans declared independence in part due to their opposition to your warmongering! Why, pray tell, should they be punished for dealing with a potential threat to their security?

-----

<Saskana>

*Ynot nods at D-Klak*

Ynot: Fair enough. Anima, let's go back to the ship.

*They all teleport back to the Cabana*

---

*The assassin droids' ship also appears near Saskana*

-----

<Atuar Sadiares>

*Aster and Rainn's ship drops out of warp near Atuar Sadiares*

*Aster is jolted awake by the sudden stop*

Branley: We've arrived, ladies.

-----

<The Bat-Cave>

F-Blackout: Good, good, an actual motivation. That's rare around these parts. No, Rahn, we are not the bad guys. We are fighting for a greater cause.

-----

<Liquid-Metallicon>

F-Blackout: Well, you see, I'm from another galaxy. Back home, they call me the Lord of the Obsidian Belt. I'm as powerful there as you are here. And I'd like to sell you the rights to a lucrative asteroid field.

-----

<Malchior IV, Senate>

Alan: Very well too, mustn't grumble. So, have you heard about that NSA business?

-----

<Neo Z'traa>

Ricochet: Stun them all. Interrupt the fight, but don't be seen to take sides.

< The Divine Providence >

The door to the meeting room opened, and a young officer stepped in, saluting. She walked to Gendo, passing a communications tablet to him. He took it from her, reading what was written on it. He eyes turned to Malygos.

"Lord Malygos. Pardon my interruption, but an individual named 'Lalli Kain' has appeared in orbit of Saskana, along with somebody named 'Klak'. They have requested you be made aware of this fact."

Gendo handed the tablet back to the officer, dismissing her. She saluted, leaving the room.

---

< Liquid-Metallicon >

The two robots emerged from the private lounge by the time Shepard had finished his third drink. He turned to them, raising an eyebrow.

"Is it done?"

They nodded. Shepard smiled, pulling a device - similar in size and appearance to a graphics card - from his jacket, and handing it to them.

"Payment, as promised. My ship's equipped with a transporter, so I'll just beam it aboard - saves us both the hassle of transporting it. Pleasure doing business with you."

Shepard got up to leave, exiting the club. He replaced his sunglasses and began the walk back to the ship, when, about halfway there, something caught his eye down an alleyway - a large man in bloodstained robes huddled at the base of a wall, which had a sizable impact crater, as if he had been thrown. Bored, he left the main street, walking up to Cassius. He knelt beside him, lifting his glasses up to his forehead and, accessing his host's memories, tried to do his best approximation of what someone who wasn't a sociopath might say if they saw someone else in distress.

"Are you alright?"

(I didn't say it was a very good approximation)

---

< Sorangard, Lurian Capital >

Sefer materialized in Ascheron's study, in her trademark flash of red light. Startled, Ascheron closed his book, rising from his reading chair and removing his glasses. He placed the book on the table next to him, resting his glasses gently on top, and straightening his uniform. Sefer looked around the study, somewhat impressed at the large collection of books Ascheron had amassed, but more impressed at the fact that he could actually read.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ascheron, adjusting his collar.

"I think we both know, Ash." replied Sefer, frowning. Ascheron hated that nickname, which meant she loved it. "You invade six systems and practically declare war on the Dominion and ZFT, and then expect me not to have something to say?"

By now, Ascheron had poured two drinks. "I don't have to explain internal decisions to outsiders."

"You do when they are your allies, who you are endangering with those decisions."

"ALLIES?" shouted Ascheron, crushing his class in his hand as he lifted it to his mouth. "You hysterical witch... you abandoned us, and refused to join the fight at Saskana! You do not give us weapons or military equipment! Your contributions to the Republic are so pitiful as to barely outweigh the disgust I feel at being in the same room as you!"

"The Takemikazuchi Empire has no interest in going to war with ZFT or the Dominion. If I'm given a choice between maintaining peace with them, or an alliance with you..." she said, smirking, "...I think you know which one I'll choose."

"You scum!" he roared, storming over to her and grabbing her by the collar, lifting her up against the wall hard enough to dent it. Her expression remained unchanged, which served only to further anger him.

"If my ultimatum annoys you, then make sure I'm not forced to make such a choice. Make your peace with Blackout and Malygos."

"Never. I cannot go back on my promises to the Republic. I cannot forgive centuries of oppression."

"Then we're done here."

Ascheron realized what Sefer had just said, and released her, stepping backwards. He ran his hand along his forehead, thinking it through. Suddenly, the benefits of the alliance with the Takemikazuchi, which he had been so unable to list beforehand, became clear to him. He ran a hand over the top of his head, sighing.

"No... No. If it means maintaining the alliance... I... I'll apologize. I'll make my peace with them. We won't go to war."

"Good." replied Sefer, smiling. "That's all I wanted to hear." she said, slipping out from between him and the wall, fixing her collar as she did. She walked over to the drinks cabinet, retrieving and downing the other drink Ascheron had prepared. "Oh, and, Ascheron?"

"Yes?" he replied, wearily.

"If you ever again accuse me of being hysterical, or so much as think about laying a hand on me... I will break you. And you will scream."

She disappeared in a flash of red light. Ascheron kicked a table.

---

< Orbit above Veanoss, a newly captured Lurian world >

Krieg stood before the viewscreen of the Plume D'Espace, Lord Silver's personal vessel, his arms folded behind his back. Silver sat in the captain's command throne, his chin resting on his hand.

"Why did you bring me here, Krieg?" asked Lord Silver, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Krieg grinned.

"Please, Lord Silver. Patience." replied Krieg, in his booming voice that drowned out the background noise of the bridge's machinery, which was deserted save for them. A few seconds later, a warp portal opened, and an O'neill cylinder space colony emerged, escorted by ships of Krieg's fleet. Lord Silver yawned.

"Yes, very interesting, Krieg. I've been to Ascheron's meetings - I know all about the plans to seed the outer territories with space colonies, in an effort to cement out hold on them."

Krieg turned, grinning, and began to pace the bridge. "No, Lord Silver, you do not understand. This planet, Veanoss, was recently captured by forces of the Lurian military. Its armies were destroyed, and its government surrendered, signing away the freedom of its people and ensuring its incorporation into Ascheron's empire. However, since then, its people - all ten billion of them - have resisted the occupation, engaging in riots and anti-government protests. We have lost soldiers trying to maintain order and peace on this world. But for what? Its people are, for the most part, completely genetically impure, and the world possesses an extensive population of Xenos. Radical ideologies are created and circulated freely, and the people will always resist our control. I have a better solution." he replied.

"Oh?"

Krieg retrieved a small communicator from his uniform, and raised it to his mouth. "Do it."

The mirrors of the colony rotated, reflecting the sun's light into the center of the colony. The space within began to glow, light seeping out from the open portions of its surface, and the large opening at the end. Krieg grinned, and that grin soon turned to laughter.

"It looks like Sefer's technological contributions will be of some real use to the Republic, after all. Witness the power of the colony laser!"

Silver rose from his seat, panicking. "Krieg! No!"

"FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE IDEALS OF LURIA!"

He roared with laughter as a beam of golden energy shot from the muzzle of the colony laser, impacting the planet's surface. A golden shockwave emanated from the point of impact, speeding across the surface, destroying anything in its wake. Lightning surrounded the colony laser as the mirrors began to collapse, but by then the planet's surface was wholly engulfed by fire, the plates pulling apart and magma spewing over the burning land. The laser flickered out as the colony fell apart under the stress. The viewscreen of the Plume D'Espace quickly polarized itself, filtering out the massive amounts of light given off by the burning world.

"What... have you done?" asked Lord Silver, sitting back down in shock.

"What Ascheron wants, but cannot allow himself to do. History must remember him as a proud and noble warrior who ensured humanity's survival. Nobody shall give any attention to the underling who did what had to be done for our preservation."

Silver collected himself, a faint smile forming on his lips. "Yes, of course. As the responsibility of those who lead is to be what other men cannot, our responsibility is to be what he cannot. Even if that means becoming evil itself."

Krieg turned to the viewscreen, grinning at the image of the burning world. "Sieg Luria, and long live Ascheron."

<The Divine Providence>

*Suddenly, a portal opens in the middle of the discussion, and Figlio appears*

*Figlio claps, and laughs*

Figlio: "Bravo on your diplomacy, my friends. However, a few voices are missing at this table! Voices with a stake in the game. As representative of HYDRA, I declare that Saskana must choose its fate."

*He looks at Blackout, then at Malygos*

Figlio: "I'm sure you'll both keep your word."

---

<The Cabana>

*Perseus scans Axalara with a Red Lantern construct, while Moe places his hands on his face in despair. Cutter's lifeless body is then carried away by Moe, Spotter, and any crew member of the Cabana that wishes to help them. Coro passes by, and widens his eyes*

Coro: "No...NO!"

*He runs over to where Perseus and Axalara are*

Coro: "The despair of my visions is....is reality!"

*D-Klak (4) starts feeling strange*

D-Klak (4): "Ever get a sense that you're in a place...twice?"

*Suddenly, Lalli Cain's ship communicates with the Cabana*

Lalli Cain: "This is Lalli Cain, requesting permission to board the Cabana."

---

<Atuar Sadiares>

Rainn: "Thanks, Branley. Aster, let's get moving. I want to explore. We should also find a place to stay."

*Rainn unbuckles his seat belt and stands up*

---

<The Bat-Cave>

Rahn: "And what is that? A world without Klak?"

---

<Liquid-Metallicon, Ozar's Base>

Ozar: "And what's on this asteroid field that would be of interest to someone like me?"

--

<Liquid-Metallicon, Outside Sachiel's Hospital>

*Mazkertis raises an eyebrow*

Mazkertis: (tp to everyone) "Well? What is your decision, medic?"

---

<Malchior IV, Senate>

Woodstall: "Mhm, saw that coming from a mile away. The committee was told about Project NSA back in the last presidency. I was against it, and I'm still against it now. I don't intend on furthering your agenda though, Alan. I'm not interested in MIV-IP, or whatever you call yourselves. My loyalty is to my constituents."

---

<Neo Z'traa>

*Caiaphus stuns everyone. The female Vrai that was sneaking around is revealed to be a Makuta in disguise, and the Rahkshi her son.*

Caiaphus: "This had better work."

*The illusion dissipates, and they stand before the Council*

General 1: "You stunned a Vrai! You have ill intentions!"

Caiaphus: "But we Asved him by rooting out an imposter, and getting rid of his enemies. What we did was justified to further the goals of the Vrai race."

*The Generals start murmuring amongst each other, and nod. Caiaphus smiles*

General 2: "You have done well in these tests. You at the very least understand our people, and our empire."

Caiaphus: "And I shall help you reconstruct yourselves."

*The Generals remain silent*

General 1: "We shall discuss this matter privately. Leave!"

*Soldiers take Ricochet and Caiaphus away. Max-Eli follows them*

Caiaphus: "Perhaps they'll need one more thing to convince them."

Max-Eli: "There is one thing you can do. Our planet was nearly destroyed, and many of its fauna have been...mutated. Our weapons are unable to take on this massive, scorpion-like beast. If you kill it, perhaps we will consider trusting you."

Caiaphus: "Where can we find this beast?"

Max-Eli: "A few miles away from this location."

Caiaphus: "Thank you."

*Caiaphus leaves, hoping that Ricochet will follow him*


OOS: Waiting on Malygos, Nif, and Zev for the rest.

OOS: Musical accompaniment

---------------------------

<The UG>

You know the feeling you get when you're in a car which has begun a sudden descent down a steep hill, and it feels like your chest's being pushed up into your mouth? That was the feeling that woke Kakamu from his slumber, as the pod he was trapped in slid down a rail into the black void below. His head bashed against the back of the pod and he tried to shake off the remaining drowsiness in an effort to make sense of his surroundings, but found that only his head, fingers and toes were free to move. He tried to wriggle out of the pod, but it was far too tight without shapeshifting... and although he hated being confined, he wasn't sure he would prefer falling into the darkness below. He tried to activate his teleportation power to appear on Saskana - the planet that he and his friends were en route to only moments ago - but he only received a sharp, painful headache instead. This headache didn't seem to be caused by the pod or his environment though, it was more like his own body telling him that teleportation was impossible... at least, impossible to escape from wherever he was.

Suddenly, the pod swung to the left and connected to a rail on a horizontal path, and Kakamu was presented with a sight that would strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest of warriors. His pod travelled on a rail between two gigantic metal cliffs, each storing hundreds if not thousands of pods just like his own. Most of the pods' lids were closed over the faces of their occupants, though Kakamu could see one - but only one - pod that was damaged. The lid that would normally fold over the top was missing, and the rest of the casing seemed to sport electrical burns. Considering that the pod was the closest on its row to a beam which orbs of unknown energy bounced along, Kakamu thought that it had probably been hit by one of these orbs, which must have been discharged by a power buildup. Kakamu's pod stopped again opposite this damaged pod, and turned on a rail at a 90° angle, so that Kakamu was facing it directly this time. The pod resumed its course and a section of the wall at the end of the rail opened up to let him through.

"H... help me..."

Kakamu's eyes widened. Did he really hear that? Regardless, he couldn't stop and listen for it again even if he wanted to; the pod was moving onwards. Kakamu found himself directly in front of the gap in the wall after a few moments, and next to the damaged pod... it was then that he heard the voice again.

"Please... HELP!"

A face lurched out of the shadows of the damaged pod and into whatever little ambient light there was. Kakamu saw that she was an alien woman, badly burned due to whatever burned the pod as well as looking malnourished. The woman saw Kakamu, and weakly struggled against the locks of her pod. Kakamu's confused expression changed to one of panic, and he struggled against his own bonds in an attempt to free himself and the woman beside him, but it was no use. He tried to teleport out, but that only caused his headache to return. For the first time in his life, Kakamu felt utterly powerless. He was trapped, just like everyone else in this place, and nothing and no-one was coming to rescue him.

"I'LL SAVE YOU!" Kakamu shouted desperately, to reassure himself as much as her. The woman began to cry as his pod took him through the gap in the cliff and out of sight. The pod's speed accelerated and Kakamu found himself being whisked through another shadowy expanse, but this time with intermittent floating platforms. Kakamu was too far away to see what was going on, but he did catch a glimpse of a group of men on one of these platforms, who resembled cybernetic human mercenaries.  They glared at him before his pod turned on another path and brought him to a large, curved window. On the other side was his kidnapper Monarch, still wearing his black, heavy armour, typing on a control panel. He looked up at Kakamu and the white eyes of his helmet lit up in acknowledgement. At the press of a few more buttons, Kakamu felt himself disappear from his pod and reappear somewhere else. Monarch sighed, stretched his arms and swivelled his chair round to face Kakamu, who materialized on the floor across the room.

Kakamu tried to push himself up and gave his captor the filthiest look anyone could give. Monarch raised his hand and motioned for Kakamu to stay where he was.

"I'll kill y-" Kakamu began.

"Shhhhh. Your master approaches."

<The Divine Providence>

*Blackout stands up, looks over Figlio, and turns to Gendo*

Blackout: Your Excellence, you appear to have a security problem.

*He looks out of the corner of his eye at Malygos, trying to guess if he recognises Figlio*

-----

<The Cabana>

Sasuken: What did you say..... Visions?

*He suddenly collapses and falls asleep*

Ynot: What the hell is going on here? *to Lalli* Who even are you?

-----

<Atuar Sadiares>

*The ship docks, and the three get off*

*All around them, they can see construction crews working to repair the damage from the pirate attack*

*A small robot drives up to them, and hands each of them a welcome flyer*

-----

<The Bat-Cave>

F-Blackout: You think too small, Rahn. No. I want a world with no Klaks whatsoever. Klak will die soon enough, you don't have to worry about that. I need F-Klak to follow suit, and that can only be accomplished by making him doubt himself, and I can only do that by making your Klak stronger and angrier.

-----

<Liquid-Metallicon>

F-Blackout: *laughs* Why, riches, of course! Enough infidium to make you the richest man in the galaxy within a week!

*He eyes a safe embedded in the wall behind Ozar*

-----

<Malchior IV, Senate>

Alan: Of course, of course. As mine is to my own. So, how do your constituents feel about the President spying on his political rivals?

-----

<Neo Z'traa>

*Ricochet crawls after Caiaphus*