Apex with Nemesis in the storm as Timepiece approaches Gunner walking free behind ~
Timepiece
- "They're all from lost worlds, everything we can find about them is
extinct, and from across the galaxy, and we searched for years. Planets
are destroyed in a path until the path runs out, and then a black hole
destroys the system and then ... another path appears."
She looks
out over the field, the line well held but overgrowing, vines cropping
over and through. "These are the ghosts of all their biospheres at
once.
Voiced over as the Alien God circles with Mars "Remnant gods that can survive without worship."
The
Alien strikes, blocked and a swing kick, the alien lifts a leg and
catches it between with a hard twist. Punches down full force to the
side ribs.
Mars grabs his own leg and fling twists hard like a
lever to pry, twisting the alien back, draws back, as the alien turns to
he's leaping at him.
____
The Boy - Takes a piece, the board
getting dry for both. "The ones who are disloyal get shaken off this
way, in the winds of my travel."
nameless - Trying not to laugh, "I'm fighting it."
The Boy - "Fighting what ?"
nameless - "Nothing. Do go on."
The
Boy - Looking behind the nameless at his own line forming, then a bit
of honest wonderment as the spire sweeps over, "All of this will join
them. But how was it for you ? How did you form such alliances. They
say you were a conqueror."
nameless - Takes a piece ... "Well ...
after a while we just ran out of people who had a problem with us.
Been mostly peaceful ever since."
The Boy - "You mean you have no enemies because you wiped them all out."
nameless - "They started it."
____
Apex - At the edge of the storm, in front of the growing spires. "I haven't given up hope we can settle this."
Nemesis - "There seem to be some among their gods who keep their honor if not their minds."
Apex - Binoculars to the line ... "Still leaves the vegetation."
____
The fight has declined to the point of leaning on each other in a slow turning stumble with random weak ass kidney shots.
Teacher flies from nowhere in full armor, "Teacher ... !" Elbow drops them both into a pile from above, "Wins."
Nemesis snickers voiced over. Clears her throat. "Nothing."
____
nameless - "Hubris. Too used to winning. You should never have let me take you into my world."
The Boy - As the predatory beasts of the zoo circle in examination, as though sizing potential prey, "Then you are a ruler of Hell."
nameless - "Some say. This one's yours." He kicks a piece off the board with his own. "So what happened to the little boy ?"
The Boy - A laugh. "Suicide. His vessel left unwanted, in the asylum."
nameless - ... "That's too bad. Could have had a better ending."
The Boy - "I don't think so. That means he's here of course, 'Hell Keeper'."
nameless - "I like to think of myself as a librarian.
This is just another new wing in the occult section." Looks away to
nothing, "Lucretia. Will you overlay what we have on these worlds to
the existent biosphere please. I believe Timepiece has made a fair survey."
Lucretia
- "She has. Much of this world will respond to everything foreign here
as a threat. It will only reinforce and define what's there already,
but you're right."
nameless - Looks at The Boy, "These were beautiful worlds once. And everyone's got the right to be."
Lucretia
- Snort, "Yeah for like five seconds. Most of what's sentient will
still follow his orders, he appears to choose systems by their social
codes and aggressive biospheres."
The Boy - Smiles. Flips a piece off the board. "And even if I can't beat you, I will still take your world."
...
Lucretia - "So he's kind of a little shit isn't he."
nameless - "Truly." He holds a piece over the board ... looks at The Boy. "Are we on then ? I will release them from their bonds of forgetfulness." He places the piece. "And you will order them to kill my people."
The Boy - "And do you believe they will all ... instantly join you ?"
nameless
- "Of course not. I think many gods will die today. But it's the
right thing to do." Moves a piece, "And ... it's done."
~ At the
front Apex gets the word, noting color returning to the vines and
foliage. a hard wind blows reminding of the storm. To Nemesis, "It's
time."
The Boy - "Predictable." Moves a piece. "Check."
nameless - "Are you sure ?"
The Boy stares ... he stares back. A smile, he moves.
nameless - "Check !"
The Boy - "That's not ... " He looks it over, then at the nameless.
nameless - "My world. My rules. They say you can die here. Prepare."
Overhead a spire locks in place. The Boy looks up as the world shakes with the weight of it's stoppage.
Diver
Deep emerges first from the cloud, then Hector and Sally. The Orson,
Jim's Riverboat rolling on the other side. The Nautilus, Decibel
bursting out at speed, the Amazon bikers on the ground, then the Turtle
Walkers, with Sanctuary's army beneath.
Another spire stops, shaking the world.
The
dinosaurs work their ways in from the sides, hissing and returned with
this opposing biosphere. Xquic aims her rifle from the Orson rigging
while Lieu Hanh spots, the main guns turn in their vagueness of repair.
(0:45)
The
decks line across with crew aiming, the same on the riverboat, rolling
on its wheels. The last spires locks in place lock in place as more of
their number show as far as can be seen, all recognizable.
While piece after piece is knocked from the chessboard.
(1:10)
The
last spire locks, they charge with the Creation formed behind them,
immediately reaching swathes at the front with its sword. Battle on.
Amid
the rush it's true many old gods realize themselves, looking around as
most others mindlessly charge, but not so much as to matter at first.
But those with the one who fought Mars do join with, as do others who
remember to respect them.
~ Their game continues in the center of it all, the winds of war blowing all but their pieces.
Broad
sweeps with the sword from the creation handle the overgrowth between
strikes on larger beasts, Amazons swarm in waves avoiding their steps,
cutting away as they do on what's manageable.
(1:58)
Mary
(assassin vers) - Leaning on a wall next to a giant red guy with big ass
horns, annoyed. "I have no idea why I'm even here."
Giant Red Guy with Big Ass Horns - "Seriously."
Mary - "Hey aren't you literally the devil himself ?"
The Devil Himself - "What of it then ?"
(2:13)
She gives a look of war.
The
boy sweeps the board away in a rage, slams his fists on the table and
begins to grow as he absorbs the biosphere. While in space the beast is
triggered, flexing throughout in a rage and balancing its field, as
seen by the rippling stars around it.
With him nameless grows as
well in kind, absorbing is world as these battle take place on their
forms. Warping the fields around them, armies charging across their
shoulders and clashing at the meeting fists.
In space a black
hole appears in the creature's rage, on the field any attempt for
control is met with a fist, every fear The Boy feels making the
creature's defense mechanism worse.
They've now enveloped the
fields entirely, beyond all size with the armies roaring across their
backs topologically as they wrestle, the nameless finally putting him
down.
A hard down punch to the face, as in space the black hole
draws the struggling creature in. Beating it down, until collapses back
into the land. The creature flails to escape as the stars are blotted
by ships passing.
As the black hole begins to close, "Prepare." A launch of a single missile, the flash from the last of the closing hole.
While
nameless kneels in a field, fast growing with forgotten life. In the
world people wake, crews from their slumber, Nocturne just rolls over.
From behind the nameless stands watching it grow, cane sliding from his sleeve, his armies simply disappearing.
~ for my predecessor, about whom I know very little except he was probably the surliest old bastard I ever knew ~
Final
credits as the alien hell becomes something else, and their gods
recovering themselves. Their ghosts reuniting amid trees growing, old
Midwich vines taking healthy color and sprouting.
And then he's gone.
~ the end ~