Kaleidoscope XII

Death and All Her Friends

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Barracks Causeway, Northern Perimeter

Obrenheim Castle, Northern Darius Prime

06:01, 36/2/2

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A pair of guards rushed into the crumbling hallway, pole weapons held high against their taller invaders. An insectoid soldier raised a chitinous weapon and spewed forth bolts of acidic slime, powerful enough to not only dissolve one guard's pauldron but also take away the flesh of his shoulder. The remaining guard screamed in his unknown tongue, then to the bug's surprise fired back with a similar stream of liquid from a primitive sidearm. Nothing happened at first--the insect redirecting his weapon to the next target--until the guard huffed a lick of flame from his helmet's faceplate and activated the chemical spray. The bug seemed to steam and sizzle on his hard carapace, but then the whole of his natural exoskeleton turned to mush.

"Great. Chemical warfare, is it?" Sydney dropped down through the broken ceiling with the aid of her grappling pistol, attempting to remain hidden as the second guard was overwhelmed as a distraction. "This is a slaughter. Carbon, you see the perimeter hallway? I'm just inside--"

"Ex locked onto your radio signal, honey." A flash of light wafted over the length of the causeway, then a moment later a visible beam cleaved through the targeted path and sliced through seven invaders effortlessly. "That means I have a few more options to play with now."

"There are still guardsmen about, otter! Visual targeting only!"

"These guys show up like fireflies on my thermal spectrum. I'm being careful."

"Then... watch my tail, love."

"Gladly--"

"No time for jokes, Carbon. I need overwatch if I'm getting to Eve before they do. She should be ahead, anti-clockwise on the perimeter..." The remaining invaders were separated now, though lack of intelligence on the various unknown races made direct confrontation too dangerous. Sydney spotted the barely standing archway to the next room and formulated a plan. "How's Ari say it? 'Hardcore parkour'?"

"Don't hurt yourself. Gravity is a bit heavier on this planet." Carbon landed Ex just outside the broken section of outer wall and waved a large cannon at the invaders. "I'll make an opening. Go for it."

"Thank you, love." Cid checked her 1911 at her side, then once satisfied it was secure in its holster she pushed into a sprint. Just before hitting the true floor of the room she changed her direction so she could run up a decorative bannister lining the hallway. A kick and hop later and she climbed atop a headless statue, continuing her momentum to reach a support overhead with her paws. "You make a solid distraction, otter. I have a grenade if you need--"

"How many times have I told you not to bring grenades to negotiations?" Ex slammed a metal arm into a smaller, fuzzy enemy and drew purple blood from his mouth. "Get to Eve before they notice you. We're fine over here."

Sydney readied her grapple, firing the claw into a further support beam. "'We'?"

"You think I'm half-assing this?" As Ex smacked another invader and the others readied to counter-attack, the cockpit opened to reveal two laser shotgun blasts timed to keep the remaining enemies on the defensive. "Get your tail moving, Sydney! I'll be right behind you to grab the wifey."

"Right, she does weigh about five small suns. Don't let so much as a breeze through that door before you, otter." Sydney released her grip and swung across the remainder of the causeway, releasing the grapple's claw at the right time so she could somersault over the ground rather than faceplant a wall. "I'll find Eve so you and Ex can move her immediately. Keep up the firepower until I spot her."

"Roger that, love." The grapple claw slammed into an enemy while Carbon reloaded his capacitor shells, allowing him time to chuckle as the handle whipped into another combatant and initiated the taser module for the two victims. "Is that a gift? For me? You're so kind, Sydney."

Sydney slid through the crumbled archway and kicked up into a renewed sprint. "Use what you can to keep your distance. Even wearing your suit, they can melt you."

"Interesting. No vine combat for me, then."

"Shoot and scoot. Let Ex take the hits." The ottkat scoured the destroyed hallway section for her wife's form, eyes locking on a familiar patch of rubble she saw in prior security footage. "This might take some time. Do we have backup coming? The guardsmen here were all felled."

"I got the word out to the others, but they don't have rocket thrusters so they have to huff it. They know our location though, so--" A series of crackling flashes signalled two more spent laser capacitor shells. "Uh, Cid? Hurry. We're out of time."

"What? Don't tell me more of them joined--"

"It's her." Carbon suddenly slid through the archway, then an explosion furthered it's destruction into total collapse. "Ex just gave her a missle to play with, but that won't hold her."

"Her? You mean Gaia? The bloody timing..." Sydney rushed over to another patch of rubble near the first landmark and found a limp, black paw sticking out the bottom. "Carbon! I've got her! Eve's over here!"

"Move in case this shifts." Carbon jogged over and reached for the edge of the largest slab of rubble, planting his three vine tendrils behind him for leverage. The solid granite lifted just slightly, but enough that he could swing and rotate it to the side. "Evelyn! Can you hear me!?"

"She's passed out. Can you lift her?"

"I'll need Ex. She's... solidly built, to be honest about it." Carbon tried to lift the humanoid singularity but only managed to stir her limbs. "Sadly she has to willingly shift her effective mass and she prefers to be a bit dense."

"Then to move her we... need a massive robot that couldn't fit through that doorway even before it collapsed. Perfect."

"And to make matters worse, Ex is going run his standing orders until I can touch him again, unless you can get inside to pilot him." Another two slabs joined the first, clearing the area enough that Carbon could crouch beside his wife. "Gaia isn't going to let that happen. Maybe we can hold out for reinforcements after all? We only need a few more paws to move Eve."

"That would leave us defenseless though. It's not the smart move." Sydney grabbed the grenade she'd hidden in her suit pocket and gave it a few playful tosses. "I think I could repel Gaia for a moment, long enough for you to tap Ex."

"Aren't you the one that said explosives were too dangerous right now?" The hybrid considered his options as he held Eve's paw. "No Link, huh? Damn... Alright, what have you got in mind?"

"Well I take this grenade and shove it up her arse. If you want a rocket scientist to handle it go find Robyn." Cid examined the model of grenade--a high force, low shrapnel model--and smirked with inspiration. "I could send half that doorway rubble into her. I don't care how much she weighs, that'll still move her back."

"Now you're thinking with explosions. I trust Cid-splosions." Carbon slowly stood, reloading his customized shotgun with a set of hunting slugs rather than capacitors. "We'll keep her off balance long enough to grab Ex. We bust the wall a bit, grab Eve, then use the last of that rocket fuel to huff it back to the ship. Good?"

"Very good." Sydney walked to the collapsed doorway and peeked through a gap, immediately noticing Gaia staring right back while her men cleared stones. "She's right there. Get ready."

"I'm on stack." Carbon braced his shoulder against the rear of a strong column and waited for the coming explosion. "On your move."

"Chew on this, you impostor." Sydney flicked the safety pin out of her grenade with a trained thumb, jammed the device into the rubble, and released the arming handle as she crouched just one step back. She closed her eyes and held her paw outward, a faint, violet shield covering her front half. The grenade fuse sparked right before a hefty explosion, but due to the proximity of the kinetic shield and the force amplification it provided the rubble shot outward with the force of a cannon in a pattern eerily similar to a claymore mine. "Go!"

"On it!" Carbon used his extended vision to see right through the smoke and debris, bolting through the new opening without any resistance from the dead and disoriented. "I don't see Ex. Keep her busy for me."

"What? Bollocks." Cid dove through the dust cloud and rolled into a renewed crouch, her pistol ready to fire. "Oh, ~Gaia~... You're not dead, are you?"

"As if you could ever best me, kitten." Gaia stood herself upright, effortlessly shoving aside pieces of rubble without even using her paws. "You're different in this version. There's some otter in you... some of Carbon. Perhaps I should take it back?"

"I'd like to see you try."

"No, that would be pointless. You're not my goal here." The black and gold jackal moved forward a few steps, tapping a metallic surface poking from more debris and causing Ex to excavate himself. "This golem does not belong to you. I'm taking it back, just as I'm taking your version of me. Move aside and I won't take your life as well."

"That's not going to fly, Gaia. I'm a little more attached to her than you." Sydney raised her pistol and formed a barrier near the barrel. She braced herself and fired a massively more energetic shell than her puny 1911 could normally muster, punching a clear hole the diameter of her fist through Gaia's chest. "If you take her, you take a part of me. Sorry, but I don't split easily so you'll have to take the whole thing."

"I see. You are romantically involved in this universe. A shame I can't experience that myself." The hole slowly closed itself, though not without straining the expression on Gaia's face. "I'd rather not ruin any of my selves' lives if possible, but there's always someone there holding a gun. Unfortunately for you, this version of me seems to be closest to the one I've been seeking. Move aside."

"Go to hell." Sydney went to fire her pistol again and cement her resolve, but Ex fired his massive arm cannon to counter. The ottkat dropped her weapon and held out her paws, a quickly constructed barrier redirecting the force into Gaia but breaking too early and sending her to the ground as well. "Bloody hell!"

"So that's the trick. Your universe has potential indeed." Gaia floated upward and regained her footing, tapping Ex to issue a final order. "Crush her. Constant weight should break her shield."

"Like I'd die that easily..." Cid reached for solid ground to roll away, finding the handle of her taser grapple to her grinning surprise. She spooled the tether as Ex moved closer, then latched the hook onto his knee. The taser engaged and overloaded the tank's motors, crippling it and causing it to shut down. "Try again, wench. I still have teeth."

"I could crush you with one finger, kitten. But no, I'm done with games." Gaia flicked her wrist and her whole forearm transformed into a matte black blade. "Your toys cannot harm me. They are starting to piss me off though. Time to skin a cat."

"No!" Carbon manifested out of thin air as his suit's cloaking function ended. His double barreled shotgun pressed against Gaia's shoulder and fired twice, toppling the false goddess into a limp ragdoll. "Don't you dare touch my wife!"

"Yahr--?" Gaia chuckled as she actually needed to manually move her jaw back into place for it to heal. "Impressive. Few can mask themselves from me, lucky Yangurrar." She stumbled to her hindpaws again, smirking as Ex began to move after a delayed reboot. "You are only one plant against a golem. Enjoy dying with your wife."

"Sorry, but checkmate." Carbon tapped a paw to Ex and regained control, the large cannon pointing right for the jackal's chest. "I'd rather not find ways of killing you, but I will if need be."

"No... Impossible! Only myself and Carbon could--!?" Gaia leaned to the side to spot an unexpected appendage swaying behind the otter. "Your tail... But you don't exist! I lost you!"

Carbon backed Ex away slowly, pulling off his helmet once he was safely out of Gaia's range. "I died in your universe?"

"All of them, my dear friend. You do not exist... except for here, somehow." Gaia calmed herself, her resolve and fire coming back to her eyes within seconds. "My goals can't work this way. No... I must kill you too. You must return to the æther."

"You're definitely not the Evelyn I know." Carbon gave a silent command through his touch and Ex fired a shell into the jackal's chest. Once she slid to the edge of the broken wall he then fired a volley of missiles, sadly not burying her but sending Gaia flying far enough to grant him time for a rescue. "Sorry, Eve. She's not you, but I still had to hurt you..."

"Fuck her. Get Eve before she comes running back." Sydney picked up her pistol and gave it a check then looked up with a smile at a sight for sore eyes, a familiar bird-like mammal hopping down the same hole in the ceiling as she did earlier. "Quill. Go, otter. Reinforcements are here to buy some time."

"No need to tell me twice. Stay safe, love."

"Yo, Cid!" A small group followed behind Quill consisting of a few friends, royal guards, and their new otter king. "We got an invite to a special occasion? Where's the fun?"

"Welcome to the party, pal." Sydney shared a smirk with Iolvin at the movie reference, the two quickly meeting in the middle with a paw slap. "Carbon just punched a big hole in Gaia and sent her outside. Keep up your guard while we evacuate Eve."

"Is that what this is about? The bad girl's going after the good one?" Yoyo pulled a small, armored Gnome to his side and gave her helmet a pat. "Good thing we got dressed for the occasion. <Excelle, don't rush into this. You probably can't hurt this woman, but you don't need to. Just try to subdue her and prioritize defense. Where's your weapon?>"

Excelle snatched a spare warhammer resembling a pickaxe from one of her guards, leaving him with his halberd. "<Right here. You fight with no armor? Or we fight for you?>"

"<I'll jump into the fray if needed, but nobody should be looking forward to fighting Gaia. You saw my son's missing arm? She simply plucked it off him apparently. She's stronger than she looks.>" Yoyo gave Sydney another tap on the shoulder before moving to a position near the blown apart doorway. "This the final line, Cid? We can hold this."

"Yes, that's the spot. We should spread out a bit though considering she can probably hurl entire walls." Hesitating due to the awkward one-way language barrier, Sydney nudged Quill and pointed to a corner near the outer breach. "Think you can hide there? If Gaia slips through you might get a good flanking attack on her. What weapons do you use, anyway?"

Quill held up a featherlike hand and liquid white drew weightlessly from a container at her waist. It split into three needles which she promptly grabbed.

"Ah, throwing weapons. I was just concerned you might prefer melee and that plan works best with range. Good, take position." Sydney's eyes darted about the causeway, taking note of Artemis and Vixelynn bringing yet more guards, then soon staring into Iolvin's grinning expression. "What, big guy?"

"You remind me of my dad, the last time we... well..." Yoyo's grin soured as his thoughts shifted to the grim end of that particular encounter. "Forget it. We'll do better this time. Hey son, you sure you want to be here?"

"That bitch took my arm. I aim to claim my side of that bargain." Arty produced his holographic grimoire and readied a spell that crackled lightning in his organic paw. "How should we do this?"

"Take the wall opposite Quill. Between the two of you we should catch Gaia off guard. These Gnomes and I can be the bait." Yoyo nudged his chin to the opening as a silhouette shown through the dust of the recent explosions. "Hurry. And Vix, get the hell out of here while you can."

"Uh, y-yeah..." Vix found a large section of the next level's floor post-collapse and crouched behind it. "Go, Art. I'll be fine here."

"Stay safe and quiet. I'm coming back for you; I promise." Arty jogged over to his position and quelled the size of his arc lightning for the sake of visibility. "Ready."

"Don't--" Sydney shut her muzzle to stay within her own parameters, wanting the whole of the combatants to remain quiet and unannounced. "Gaia! You give up far too easily!"

"Do you want me to desire killing you, kitten? You're working on it." The figure in the smoke passed into the open with a broad smile and a distinct lack of injuries. "So you found more of these pathetic guards? That's your card to play?"

"Oy, it only took two people to knock you on your ass, puppy. Let's see what a dozen can do."

"You insolent mammal..." Gaia trudged forward a few paces then picked up a stone and beamed it into Arty's metal arm, sending him falling before he could release his spell. "Did you forget I can see better than you through this haze? Your little plan--"

Quill hurled her three needles in rapid succession, catching Gaia off guard and pinning her to the ground next to Artemis.

"You were saying?" Sydney gave Yoyo a playful nudge as she stepped forward while the opportunity presented itself. She readied her pistol and fired yet another kinetically enhanced slug into the helpless jackal's waist. "I wonder if you can fight after we split you in half and toss your legs outside. Sound like a fun time?"

"I think I'll do it myself. She owes me a limb and some organs, after all." Arty rolled his now-damaged arm in its artificial socket. Once satisfied, he stood over Gaia and discharged a cascade of heavy lightning from his good paw. "Well look at that. Turns out enough heat cuts through easily enough. You should have killed me, Gaia. This will not be quick or painless."

Gaia suddenly popped her chest from the ground and grabbed Arty's ankle, making herself highly conductive so he had no choice but to cease his assault. "You play with the worst of fires, boy!" As Arty fell from the accidental tasing, Gaia pulled herself over his body and gave him a heavy hug--forcing Quill's needles partially into the panthott's own chest. "You wish to die? Consider it granted."

"Son!"

Cid held Iolvin back as he tried to correct his son's mistake. "That's what she wants."

"That's my son, Cid! Sandy's son!" Yoyo hunched forward over Sydney's arms, but eased down his ill-planned rescue. "I can't lose the last gift she gave me..."

"Cool it, dad. She's full of shit. Quill!" Arty punched his massive metal fist into Gaia's face to keep her from reacting as Quill's needles turned back into liquid and returned to her. Now freed, he rolled over and kicked into a sprint away from the jackal. "Hit her!"

"Wait!" Vixellyn leapt from her cover and waved her paws. "She's got Cheren!"

Cid hissed through grit teeth and lowered her weapon. "Can't avoid a hostage situation, can we?"

"So how does this play out, eh?" Yoyo regained his composure as Excelle joined his side. "What's it gonna take to get Cherry back?"

"I need my counter... part..." Gaia stared into the chemical lantern in her paw, bewildered by the blue light within. She then closed her paw and squeezed, crushing the vessel and forcing the djinn inside to evacuate and solidify. "Perhaps not. You are unique to this universe? You have knowledge of realm travel. Perhaps you know more. Hold still."

Arty hurled a bolt of lightning to the ground nearby. "Don't touch her!"

"Interesting. Yes..." One of Gaia's paws clasped around Cherenkov's neck to secure her while the other set over her face, causing the djinn to glow white near each point of contact. "This will do. I am wasting time in this realm now."

Artemis again fired energy from his clawtips, striking Gaia to no reaction. "I said not to touch her! If you hurt her I swear I'll fuck you up!"

"She has served her purpose." Gaia eased Cheren onto the ground and stood to contemplate whatever she'd gleaned in their interaction. "I am leaving this place. You may want to take the same--"

"Fucking bitch!" A large ball of lightning swirled in Arty's paw before he jammed it into Gaia's midsection, causing her to melt around it. "I told you not to hurt her. I warned you."

"What are you implying? I only read part of the data within her." Gaia looked down to the collapsed girl, then to her crumpled home. "Ah. That... was unintentional. I didn't mean to harm her. In our last meeting she did not require a container for upkeep."

"You just killed her. Now I'm going to--"

"No." Gaia ripped apart Arty's forearm and beat him with his own paw, sending him down to join Cheren. "I feel for your loss, boy. That's the only reason I won't kill you for that attack."

"Yeah, well I will." Carbon returned riding Ex, telling the machine to shove a cannon shell right up Gaia's ass. The weapon fired, but the jackal dodged a single step to the side and amazingly snatched the shell out of the air. "Right, that's not good. Ex, laser time!"

"Too late, my friend." Gaia hurled her new projectile into the dead center of Ex's frame at several times the speed of sound, inverting his armor before his systems failed and buckled his legs next. "Do not oppose me. I have no reason to kill the rest of you unless you come after me."

"Well screw that." Leannan landed from the popular entrance in the back and opened fire with her heavy duty sub-machinegun. Several small deer slugs pelted the jackal and sent her reeling, giving Quill enough time to join in with her own swarm of pins. "Arty, get out of there!"

"Thanks!" Art grabbed Cheren with his remaining paw and dragged her backward to Caitlyn, directly behind her reloading sister. "Send that bitch to hell."

"Not sure that's possible, but I can try raising hell at least." She raised her weapon again, but Lea hesitated as she read the concern in what essentially was her mother from another universe. "Giving up? What's she thinking...?"

"I don't--"

"Art!" Iolvin leapt out into the air, then a before hitting the ground a series of impacts changed his path drastically. "Sh-She... att-t-tack..."

"Dad!" Arty fell upon his father as he coughed up a hefty wad of blood. "No, no, no... Not you too, dad!"

"Damn. No hope for this one." Lea raised her weapon and fired until her magazine ran dry. "Stay down if you know what's good for you!"

"Cait, come help!"

"A-Art..."

Caitlyn kneeled beside the bleeding otter and picked up one of Quills needles from the ground. "She threw these at him? I... I don't see the rest. There's blood but I don't know where to--"

"It's... okay, son..."

"Dad! No!"

"Art, no..."

Vixellyn stood between Gaia and her lover, arms outstretched and glowing an increasingly blinding white. "No."

---

The Nexus

Every Obrenheim Castle, Every Darius Prime

__:__, __/_/_

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"...Dad..." Artemis fluttered his eyes as his vision settled, though that didn't stop the ground from shifting around him due to an upset in his inner ear. "...I need to..." His eyes shot wide and his resolve solidified upon spotting his father a few paces ahead. "Dad! Fuck, where's Cait!?"

"I'm... I'm here, Arty." Caitlyn clutched her forehead as she regained her senses, then nudged herself a meter to her side to hunch over Iolvin. "Right, those spikes. Did they puncture all the way through, or are they stuck deep inside--?" The ottkat quirked her head as suspicion and confusion clouded her thought process. "There's no puncture wounds? Arty, did I hit my head? Seriously, I feel like I have a concussion."

"No, little one. You're just fine." An eerily familiar female voice sent shivers down Arty's spine. Frozen in a mix of fear and confusion of his own, the woman chose to embrace the panthott from behind. "Look how much you've grown in such a short time, mi hijo guapo. You're quite the man now, aren't you?"

"Dios mío..." Artemis clutched the black arms wrapped around his waist, then once his cowardice abated he turned around and was brought to tears. "...M-Mom?"

Cassandra smiled and wiped her son's eyes clear. "You're not dead, Artemis. And no, this isn't a dream. It's... hard to explain, but I was called here along with you--yet I've been here the whole time as well." She leaned forward and took her son's head into her bosom, cradling him there lovingly as she stroked his hair. "I love you, Artemis. That's all that matters."

"But... how can we...?"

"Shush... We don't know how much time we have, do we? Let's make the most of it." Sandy raised her son's head back and met his forehead with hers. "I've been looking after you, you know. I heard every prayer, felt every moment of your grief, and most importantly... I watched my little boy grow into a respectable man and fall in love."

"You've been..." Arty looked around and found many of the others from the battle scattered about, but no sign of Vixellyn. "Is this Heaven? Or... no, we can't be in Purgatory..."

Sandy gave her son a whack to the side of the head. "You never could listen to me when i said important things. Artemis, you are very much alive. Now stop wasting time with silly questions." She reached down and gave Iolvin a soothing rub over his bloodied chest. When he failed to rouse, she then very effectively pounded against his ribs. "Wake up, lazy otter."

"Nn... I'm sore, Sandy. You can't keep wearing me out every night like this." Yoyo tried to pass out again, but upon spotting blood he shot awake, fully aware of his surroundings. "S-Sandy!? Fuck! It didn't work, did it!? Is our son--!?"

Arty waved a paw for his father. "Hi, dad."

"I'm not...?"

"Dead? No, silly. You and your son think exactly alike." Sandy rubbed a severely swollen section of Yoyo's ribs that slipped out from his scrunched shirt. "That trick of yours worked. I'm not sure how I feel about you thinking you should die for Artemis, but I think I might have done the same in your shoes."

Cait finally found enough of her tongue to spout more than squeaks as she inspected her patient. "A... trick?"

"I made a shield of air, but I didn't think it would work. If it stopped those daggers from killing Art though--"

"Honey, you broke just about every rib in your chest, real or otherwise."

"But he's still alive, isn't he?" Yoyo fought with his lungs a moment, then coughed up more blood and spat it to the side. "Damn..."

"I can help with that. Relax, Mister Yoyo." Cait placed her paws over the otter's chest, but no magic seemed to manifest. "I... I can't tap into the lay lines from here..."

"That might prove tough considering we're not in a normal universe where your mana flows." Sandy placed a paw over Cait's own and the expected pink light began flowing. "I can help, but only for so long. I don't understand this magic stuff as well as the two of you."

"I'll take what I can get." Yoyo reached over and reeled his lover closer by her hip. "And I'll definitely take a bit of bedside manners with you, Sandy."

"At'ta boy!" Suddenly it was Iolvin's turn to drain pale as he turned his head to the side. "I always knew you two would get together one day, son."

"D-D-Da-Da--"

"I think you broke him, Vas."

"Dad!?" Yoyo reacted by trying to stand at attention, an instinct he immediately cursed under pained breaths. "Fuck... H-How are you here? Where are we?"

"You're asking the wrong guy, Iolvin. I just know that wherever we are, there's no more battles to fight." Vasily reached a paw outward and Sandy took hit with a pleasant smile. "There's just plenty of time to spend with nice ladies like your woman here."

"Hey, watch your muzzle old man. I don't own her or anything." Sandy took Yoyo's complaint well, nodding to Vasily before returning to her lover for a snuggle. "She deserves more respect for being the mother of your grandchild."

"And on that note, I couldn't be happier for you. Son, you've started a family I could only ever envy if I didn't love it so much. I'm proud of--"

"No bloody way!" Vasily found himself in a rare position, beneath an ottkat a third of his weight and pinned with the strongest hug she could muster. "Volk! Gods, it's you!"

"More or less..." Volk sat himself upright and pat Sydney on the back, taking the unusual hugs as a badge of honor. "I'm sorry, Cid. I know how personally you take losing someone close to you. You didn't need to blame yourself though. I sacrificed myself so you could share that wild smile of yours with your kids."

"You...?" Sydney's tears shifted from those of joy to a more thankful, plentiful variety that soaked into the old husky's chest fur. "But you're back! I don't know how, but you're back!"

"Cid, I don't know about that..."

"...Wh-What?" The ottkat suddenly clammed up, unable to fully process those words. "I don't... understand what you mean... Why would the... universe, the gods, whatever...?"

"Why bring us back? Oh, Cid... I wish I could explain what this is, but it's not... that." Vasily gripped his son's paw in one of his and took Sydney's with the other. "It's complicated."

"But..."

"Sydney! There you are! Paths Divine... You wouldn't believe who--" Carbon yet again tackled Vasily with a hug. "Volk! You too? This is... amazing!"

"Wait, what were you saying Volk?" Sydney peeled Carbon away from his old pal and gripped the husky's paw tightly. "Explain it, even if I can't understand bollocks about science stuff."

"Actually, uh..." Vasily grabbed Sydney by the waist and moved her a few paces away from the others. "I think you're going to want to hear this in private, and not from me."

"What?"

"He's right, Cid." The chills must have been contagious where they were, because exactly the right voice surprised Sydney. "Thanks for looking after my daughter, Vasily. I'll take it from here."

"Mind if I head back to the family?"

"After saving my daughter time after time? You don't ever have to ask permission from me, friend. Go. Give them what comfort you can." Tristan opened his arms for a hug, holding them there even as his daughter froze in a rain of tears and stuttering. "It's alright, Cid. I'm not going to bite, not after this long anyway."

"D-Dad..." What may have been a trickle of bafflement transitioned into a torrent of tears as that embrace was finally taken. "Dad! Oh gods, dad! I missed you so bloody much!"

"I missed you too, pumpkin. Oh, right. You asked me not to call you that after we... Hm..." Tristan's shivering mess of a daughter prompted a shift in topic, a diversion to help her cope. "How's your mother doing? I bet she still sings, even without her best inspiration at home."

"Oh, she does. Mummy plays a few instruments still, as well." The plan took effect, the tears drying up partially as Cid sniffled her nose. "She still thinks about you. I've seen her singing songs for you by your grave. She might even do that daily, actually. You're still her inspiration, dad."

"Me? No, I meant you. Cid, you were the spark in her eyes once you were born. No, scratch that; you were the only thing she'd talk about even when you were just an idea and had no name."

"Are you mad? Mum always tried to stay no more than an arm's reach from you whenever she was home." A smile finally peeked over the ottkat's muzzle as she tugged her father's arm. "She's going to burn a fuse or two when she sees you. I can't wait to see the look on mum's face."

"Oh... Cid, I..." Training rounds ejected while the heavy hitting dad rounds were loaded into the cylinder. "Cid, I can't come back with you. It's simply not possible."

"What? Bollocks. Stop messing with me, daddy."

"Cid, listen to me. I'm being serious." Tristan grabbed his daughter's shoulders and hunched down to meet her gaze. "This is the price I have to pay for my sacrifices. I know you remember that night. I gave my life to protect my family. If I go back with you, it's like it never happened. It would be all for nothing." He leaned in closer and placed a kiss on Cid's lips. "I love you too much to risk your life again. I'm sure your mother would agree with me if she knew the stakes."

"But... you could if you wanted to, yes? Then--"

Tristan tapped Sydney's chin so she could see the other undead crying as they gave the bad news. "We can't. Most of us are here because our love for our families came with an ultimate cost--one most definitely worth paying after we watched the lot of you do wonderful things with your lives and save countless people. As much as I would love to hold your mother, kiss her, make love to her... I wouldn't value my selfishness higher than the pride I have in you."

"Then we'll bring mum to you! We can figure out--"

"I don't think that's in the cards either, pumpkin. We didn't call you here, or even ourselves for that matter." Tristan pointed to a lonesome figure crying by herself as she surveyed the area. "She's the dealer in this game."

"...Vix..." Sydney watched the girl wallow in sadness and frustration. "Why's she like this, dad? This is a place where the dead can come back to life, right? But she's... Oh."

"You understand now, huh? She can bring others back, but for whatever reason she can't draw her own family out." Tristan loosened his grip on his daughter and slowly turned her to face the poor girl. "I think she could use a friend right now."

"But daddy..."

"I'll always be watching over you and your mother, Cid. I'm there when you need me. Your friend isn't so lucky, the position she's in..."

"I... I don't want this to be the last time I see you, daddy."

"We'll meet again, in time. Just promise me you won't ever be in a rush to meet me. That goes double and triple whenever you lose a friend." A paw rose behind Tristan's head to ruffle his own hair in embarrassment. "Speaking of promises... Could you give your mother a message for me? Just tell her... Tell Bailey that her voice still sends chills up and down my spine."

"So you do listen to her."

"Every single day since we parted." Tristan pulled his daughter in for one last hug. "I love the two of you more than life itself, and that's a bonafide fact now. Take care of yourself, Cid."

"I... I love you too, daddy. I love you far too much." Sydney glanced to Vixellyn and then back to her father. "I'm quite fond of my friends, too."

"Go. You always did have too big of a heart for that tiny chest of yours."

"Hey, I grew out some... after having the girls..." Cid caught her father chuckling as his tease blossomed perfectly. "Oh, you bastard. If I didn't love you I'd kill you all over again."

"That's the daughter I know. Good. You'll need to be your usual strong self for what's coming around the bend." Tristan planted another kiss on his daughter's lips and began stepping backward. "Take good care of those grand-daughters of mine. They'll need that strong heart of yours in a few months."

"W-Wait, w-w-wha~t!?" Cid huffed a few heavy breaths as her father faded away into white. "Damnit, daddy. One issue at a time." She clenched her fists a few times to focus, then loosened up as she approached Vixellyn. "Hey... You okay, honey? What's the matter, Vix?"

"Sydney!" Vix collapsed as she was roused from her frustrations, immediately crumpling into Sydney's arms in a combined squat. "Where is everyone? Why am I all alone?"

"Alone? We're all here together, Vix--" Cid looked around and finally started to understand, the ottkat unable to spot the others from her new location as a haze closed around the two. "Right, this isn't a normal place. I guess you thought you were alone then."

"Is... Art's dad...?"

"Yoyo's fine, Vix. A bit worse for wear, but he'll come around."

"Gods..." The vixen drooped her head into Sydney's chest to hide the remnants of her tears. "Have you... Have you seen Art? Is he alright?"

"He looked happy. I know just how he feels, seeing his mum again like that." Cid set a paw against Vix's neck and cradled her head with a gentle touch. "Courtesy whatever you did, I also got to see my father again. Thank you, Vix."

Vixellyn broke out of the embrace and shoved away. "What do you mean? I didn't do this! I thought Gaia did!"

"My old man..." The confusion on Vix's face felt entirely genuine, giving Sydney good cause to stop and rethink her exact wording. "I don't understand it, but my father was sure you brought us here. You study magic with Arty, right? Maybe--"

"I support him, but I don't touch that magic stuff. I've got no affinity for it." Vix threw out an arm at random. "Art and the others can do amazing things, but I'm just... doomed to rely on them for everything."

"Vix, I think you aren't as rubbish as you've convinced yourself." Cid nudged her snout to the direction the vixen pointed as Artemis and his family came back into view. "You've got some sort of control over this place, most definitely."

"B-But..." Vix stared at the unknown faces surrounding her love, completely understanding who they were with inexplicable depth. "His mom? But she died... Art has her ashes."

"You didn't understand me? Somehow the dead are coming back to life in this place. That's Cassandra, and that handsome husky to the other side is--"

"Vasily. How do I know his grandfather?" Again Vixellyn collapsed into a crumpled mess. "How do I bring back his family like they've been here all along, but I can't even remember my own parents' faces? And why the fuck aren't they here!? Damnit, I want to see them!"

"Vix..."

"How can such an unfair place exist!?" Vix slammed her fists into the stone floor and winced her eyes shut. "I wish it would just... go away!"

Sydney shivered as a flash of bright light cascaded over the Nexus fading back into a more natural version of the battlefield they'd recently left behind, undead ghosts of friends replaced with very dead corpses. "I... think you might have done something again, Vix. Wish granted?"

The vixen raised her head and fluttered her eyes. "I did? Gods, what's happening to me...?"

"Vix!" Artemis fell over himself as he scrambled to inspect the vixen. "God, I was scared you were hit! You're fine, right? Please say--"

"I'm fine, I think. I don't know what... what I'm capable of, I guess, but..." Vix tossed her arms around Arty and held onto him as tightly as her muscles would allow. "What do we do, Art? I can't... risk losing control or whatever that was..."

"I don't care what we do, as long as we do it together." Arty checked the entire room and noticed a distinct issue. "Where is everyone? Hell, I hope they're taking care of... ah..." He picked up the crushed husk of a lantern that his genie previously called home. "Damn. I hope you're alright, Cher."

"I'm sure she's fine, Arty. At least she looked worth saving to whomever took her." Carbon sighed as he rubbed the lifeless carcass of his former robotic companion. "Sydney? You still have your radio? Maybe Eve regained her senses."

"Oh, y-yeah. It's hooked up to my contact mic, though." Cid unplugged her microphone from the unit, then unclipped it from her waist and tossed it to her mate. "You think she can pick up on that?"

"I hope. She's more sensitive than the ship's antenna in any case. It's probably our best--"

The dim light leaking in through the broken outer wall suddenly filled the room like the sun had fallen to land. Arty immediately pressed onto his hindpaws and covered Vix with his own body, just prior to a blast of rocks and sand flooding through the gap. "What the fuck is that!?"

"An explosion!?" Carbon jumped atop Iolvin and Caitlyn to protect his them as best as he could. "Fuck, that's sharp!"

"Carbon!" Sydney whipped up a kinetic shield and slowly pushed through the heavy debris, kneeling down and extending the shield for the three. "Those rocks are like bloody razors!"

"They actually are." Cait picked up a larger shard and held it up, presenting a rough piece of blackened glass akin to obsidian. "What is this? We didn't see anything like this outside."

"Not like that, no." Once the sustained blast subsided Carbon stood and checked directly outside. A large column of steam and smoke stood up to orbit like a gaseous space elevator, one that tethered to the ground atop a bed of molten rock and earth. "They're glassing the planet. Spirits, they're trying to punch into the core."

"We need to get out of here, fast." Sydney slapped the radio base into her mate's paw. "Otter, radio!"

"Right!" Carbon rolled a control knob until the chosen frequency reached the higher end of the unit's range. "Eve? Hermes? Starbreeze? Anyone copy?"

"Bloody hell. You're alive?" Carbon sighed in relief even if Vydr's response wasn't as positive. "How can you survive down there? The whole place is shrapnel."

"Well we just found out about that a moment ago. I don't think we were here for the rest though." The hybrid watched a massive beam of heated death slam into the ground again and signalled Sydney to ready another barrier. "I'm pretty sure we don't want to stay the night either. What's our ship status?"

"The Hermes is docked and we're... Fuck! ...Ah, we're moving a billion miles an hour dodging enemy ships--"

"Yoyo!? Is that Yoyo!? Are you alive, brother!?"

Carbon placed the radio near Iolvin's muzzle and depressed the trigger. "I'm here, Lulu. Pretty sure I'd rather be up there with you."

"You lucky son of a bitch! Hold on while I get the girls to figure something out." In her hurry Ilaria forgot to turn off her transmission switch while she mumbled away from her mic. "Hey, are you still where you disappeared? The girls just made a portal nearby that spot."

"Portal?"

"I've got it." Sydney held up her barrier as the coming wave of glass concussed her shield enough to shove her a stride backward. "Okay, I had it. The portal thing was out in the open before the blastwave took over."

"Fuck! Close it!" Again the radio stayed hot, this time telling of the debris pelting against it on the far side of that portal. "Sorry. How close was that? The girls are doing this blind."

"It was about two hundred meters north-northeast of our location." Sydney looked back, extending her barrier and heaving against the added surface pressure so she could accommodate Artemis and Vixellyn as they approached. "The dust is settling. Give it another try in ten seconds."

"They're firing again!" Carbon used his superior strength to heave Yoyo upward. "They've found a crack and they'll keep pummeling it. We need to get out of here before more ships align with that hole."

"Damn. Ari, can you flash that portal so we know where to run?"

"Will do, Sydney. Keep your eyes peeled."

"There." Arty pointed out and the others noted the portal at the base of the wall before it dissipated. "We can make that, right?"

"It's a meter off the ground. Take it down some and we'll try it." Carbon watched the next beam fire from the heavens, followed by another two. "Either that or we kick the bucket. I promised Volk I'd see him soon, but I didn't mean that soon."

"What... What was that?"

"Forget it, Ari. It's safe to open the portal now and we're huffing it." Carbon gave Ex one last sigh-laden glance, then helped support Yoyo as they moved onto the steep outer wall of the castle. "This is all compromised so watch where you step. Anyone see a path down?"

"Over there. See that column?" Arty held Vix's paw tightly and led her ahead of the group. "This column looks a bit like a slide, right?"

"Good call." Carbon looked over to the impact point in the distance and his eyes shot wide open as a much denser, faster moving wall of glass rolled their direction. "Take it! Slide!"

"Hold onto your butts!" Artemis picked up Vix and sat her in his lap, choosing to scrape himself up double for the both of them as he slid down the smooth, cracked column. "Fuck, that's sharp! Ah!"

"Art!"

"I'm fine! A cut can heal!" At the bottom of the slide Arty heaved Vix to her hindpaws while he stood by momentum alone. "Go! I'll help the others!"

"But Art--"

"Go! I need to know you're safe!"

"Be careful." Vix gave her love a quick kiss, then sprinted for the portal just as the glass cloud began pelting the area. She nearly shut her eyes as she pushed her legs to their limits, tripping in her exhaustion. Thankfully she fell into the waiting portal and onto the floor of the Starbreeze's Bridge. "Come on, Art. Hurry."

"Vix!" Ilaria grabbed Vixellyn and pulled her aside for a clear pathway. "I thought we lost you guys. Damn, I thought... I thought I lost my family..."

"What?" Iolvin slid through the portal on his back, cradling Caitlyn as they came to a harsh stop. "You can't get rid of your shadow, sis. Apparently not even death can stop this family."

"Ah! Watch out!"

Yoyo tugged Cait to roll aside as Carbon and Sydney leapt through time and space together. "Close one. Good call, PInky."

"You couldn't be my cushion too, big guy?" Sydney groaned as she rolled onto her knees, tossing her grapple to the side so she could focus on her breathing. "Never again. That Gaia is a pain in my bloody arse. We're finding a black hole with her name on it next time."

"Close it down, girls." Carbon looked around and locked eyes with Michelle and Mikhaila, giving a cut-off paw signal near his neck as Artemis finally cleared the portal. "Paths divine... We're safe now? What's the sitrep?"

"Besides me ordering you guys to clean my Bridge?" Vydr brushed as much of the glass from his fur as possible without the aid of grooming tools, quickly returning to his flight controls. "Those bastards are blocking our exit. My sisters over there say we've got to leave this universe the place we came into it and there's cruisers guarding the spot."

"Crap. She should know how this ship dives between universes, huh?" Carbon ignored the glass and blood covering his bodysuit and instead focused on the odd trajectory of the Starbreeze. "Are we in the atmosphere? Shit, how fast are we moving?"

"I've been pumping the brakes so we don't burn up if that's what you're worried about. We had to come a little closer to the surface to pick you guys up without getting blasted to bits." Void jerked a set of hologram controllers constantly to keep ahead of deadly turbulence. "I'm bringing us up so we can have more options. I need you guys to come up with a plan though."

"The ingress point is protected from all viable orbital trajectories." Prisma began sweeping debris out of the walkways of the Bridge as she spoke her mind. "We will most likely require combat force to create an opening. The probe cannon may prove useful for this, if not ideal."

"I was afraid you'd say that, Pris. Damn." The ship changed inclination a tad roughly, the engines firing up unevenly due to differences in external pressure and drag between them. "Crap! Mom, can you--"

"Void?" Ari jumped to her hindpaws as she watched her son collapse in his chair. "Vydr!"

"Bro!" Arty leapt to his brother's side and held him upright so he wouldn't fall and further injure his chest. "Cait! Pris! Help!"

"On it. Who's flying the ship though?"

"Fuck, right." Ari pulled herself into the dedicated pilot's seat and brought up the controls. "I'll keep us flying. Take care of Void."

"I would, but he's... fine?" Cait's paws gained a glow as she probed the otter's chest. "He's sleeping. How the hell could anyone sleep through this?"

"Pulmonary distress may lead to neurologic shutdown as an escape mechanism." Prisma joined the growing group around her captain and placed a set of fingers against his neck for a more precise set of vitals. "Your earlier diagnosis led me to further examine Void's scan results. His coma may have actually been a narcoleptic episode brought on by overexcitement of nerves or hormone levels and a premature misfire of the parasympathetic response."

"So... he passed out from the stress. Actually, that... makes sense given the damage done to him." Cait raised a claw to her chin and played it in circles. "The nanites should have corrected those fight or flight responses though, right? Don't they revert him back to a known state?"

"Normally, but my hypothesis points to his core nanites being replaced with new master copies--"

"How thick is this atmosphere? Or is that because the planet's falling apart?" Ari jerked the ship as she fought another rogue air current. "We're kind of trying not to die here, Pris. If Void's fine, maybe save that for later and give me a paw?"

"What, to probably die exiting atmo with not enough speed because we'd burn up? Then we get a few holes melted in the hull, barely make it home, and only then die from the leaking air? No..." Carbon sat right beside Ari in the copilot's seat and whipped out his queoo for direct control of the flight systems. "Fuck that. If we're going to risk our lives, we're doing it on our terms. You see what I see?"

Ilaria let Carbon tilt the nose down, only to then understand his plan. "They aren't covering the bottom of the location. I'm interested."

"Brilliant, otter." Cid stood behind her mate's chair with her paws on either side of the headrest. "So we punch through from below and give them the slip? Is that possible?"

"We might singe the paint a little. Apologise to Robyn for me later." Carbon kept the main thrusters firing, using the thick atmosphere as added propellant in addition to the water vapor steaming out the vents to quickly light the Starbreeze's hull aflame. "We can dip down and use a slingshot to whip us back up. Nine ball into the corner pocket."

"The physics check out. I'm not sure if we'll bake or break in the process though." Ari pulled up a calculation terminal and crunched numbers for a potential trajectory. "Actually, we just might make it if you can keep on the straight and narrow. Let me give you a guide--"

"I've got it. I'm Linked into the terminal, remember?" The third of Carbon's vines latched onto Ilaria's console and leeched the information directly into Carbon's brain. "Damn, you couldn't find a path with better tolerances than that?"

"What? This would be nothing for Trick if she was still stationed here."

"She'd have her webby hands full too, Ari. Fuck... We'll make it work." Carbon slowly increased the thrust until he just barely introduced a shudder into the hull. "Ha. What was it you said back there, Arty? That cheesy movie one-liner?"

"Pris, keep Void in his seat." Artemis found a nearby seat and took it, buckling himself into the five-point safety harness. "The rest of you might want to grab something. Hold onto your butts."

"I've never been more proud to call you my son." Iolvin groaned through laughter as he struggled to find his own seat and lock himself down tight. "Punch it, Carbon. Second star to the right--"

Ari nudged Sydney into a navigator's seat and started buckling her own harness. "--and straight 'till morning. No stopping now."

"Your whole family is way too sappy for this shit. It suits you, though." Carbon made a final path correction before kicking on the liquid rocket boosters. "You're making Volk proud, no matter the result."

"That's the second time I've heard that." Ilaria finished hooking her harness and moved to help Carbon while he flew. "What the fuck are you guys hiding from me?"

"It's hard to explain, honestly." The flaming atmosphere overtook the windows as Carbon blindly speared the Starbreeze into danger. "Let's just say an explanation won't be needed if we fail this little maneuver."

"Yeah, you'll find out yourself, Lulu." Yoyo signed to the Ems in their cramped, shared seat as he watched a progress screen. "Fire up the dive system, girls. We can't fuck this up and let Carbon get the last laugh."

"I'm sure your dad's the one laughing right now, you big idiot." The hybrid let go of his controls, closing his eyes as the last seconds took care of themselves. "At least I know I can die in some kind of peace if you make us eat shit."

"Not happening, Carbon--not while our girls are onboard."

"...At least we'd go out as a family..."

Carbon resigned himself to fate, but Sydney reached over and clamped down on his paw with her own. "We fought so they could have a future. Don't give up yet, not even an inch."

"Sydney..."

Iolvin broke the tender moment with a klaxon-grade shout. "Dive!"

Gravity bled away, and soon thereafter all light. A speck of metal flickered out of the atmosphere of Darius Prime, followed by a flash of red. After a few moments a massive explosion silently destroyed one of many dots on the planet's orbital limits nearby the secret rendezvous. Then soon Darius imitated that sentiment, its molten core weeping with destruction. Without fanfare, protest, or even a sound millions of souls lost the very land they called home.