Endgame: Pious Fiction (B Route - Verus, ???)

Spoiler: True Name Reveal

OOC: Special Credit to Pimster, or "The Lying Black Sheep" for writing the following with me.

February 8th, OE 102
12:08 PM
House Exeter Manor

A bouquet of flavors greeted his nose from the glass, its dark contents whirling gently as they caught the lights of the unusual cavern. Crystal growths overhead reflected strange beams that twinkled and gleamed, giving the impression of things that not were, and could never be into the shadows at the corner of one's eye.

Not looking to be distracted any further, he brought it to his lips, the bitter flavor spreading across his tongue. A moment's pause, as he savored it thoughtfully.

"...OE 12. Idyllic Vineyards." He said, into the gloom.

There was only a silence from the master of the House, the Lord of Exeter, who watched him from across the catwalk, his own drink in hand. The young sommelier gave a wry smile as he regarded the glass.

"It's fake too, isn't it?" He said, at last. The Master just chuckled.

"Synthesis technology has advanced to the point where the facsimile is indifferential from the genuine article, even to the senses of a supposed expert."

"Then, the deception would be complete. The lie would have become the truth."

Another laugh came from the other man, and for a moment he thought he had jumped to conclusions. Surely, such a thing couldn't be so simple? After all, that was why he had answered the summons - to meet this... other him.

"That depends." Sighed Mel Khan. "Which is the falsehood: The wine, or your skills?"

The Sommelier opened his mouth, only to close it again quickly, as he realized the implication. Khan nodded sagely, as if pleased.

"By losing your ability to determine what is the truth, you paradoxically become-"

They both looked down at the form beneath them, nestled in its hazily-lit crater, smooth crimson head ensconced in a pair of thick, black tusks, jutting out a above a body that was equal parts monster and mineral. The Sommelier's eyes narrowed as he tipped the glass, allowing the Lunarian wine to drizzle down across the Arietis' face, like droplets of blood, as a pair of golden eyes flashed to life.

---

February 8th, OE 102
2:08 PM DST
Lunar Orbit

Two identical forms darted across the stars, cutting through the void like knives, leaving glimmering emerald trails of "Dimensional Force" in their wake - as well as the tattered, ethereal fragments of several Spirit Soldiers.

Still, more ever emerged to fill the vacuum, their shroud-wrapped skeletal forms gravitating through the void towards warmth, gleaming scythes clasped tightly in their hands.

"How we doing back there?"

The lead unit, the white and red machine, glanced back at its companion - identical in all but coloration, as the Asclepius regarded its Mass Produced variant. The Directory writ large, he thought, were better off not knowing about this particular machine - lest they start getting funny ideas about using it for themselves, but his "benefactor" had been kind enough to provide at least a couple for emergencies-

Ones, mused Gail solemnly, just like this one.

"Gotta say, you fly like a natural!" He said, Asclepius' left hand turning into a confident thumbs up.

Of course, they had been designed with brand-new pilots in mind - every Motion Pattern had been personally provided by him. Still, the girl was holding up remarkably well given everything she'd been through. Now all they needed to do...

He raised his eyes to the image before them, of a whirling mass of screeching souls, like a cocoon that hung in the void in defiance of all known physics, surrounded by veritable swarms of specters that were being vacuumed into it nonstop. Already, he could feel the surge of malevolent power coming from the Granzon's resurgence - and somehow, they had to put a stop to it - it had almost wiped out the entire Lunar Kingdom in one go, and he wasn't about to let it get a second swing.

He just hoped she was up for it.

They were a pair of streaks across the blackened darkness of space, alike two comets entwined together dancing to a certain tune of ‘fate’. Or if one could even call it fate at this point, as one girl had just been broken from the chains that fated her to doom; yet the other was heroically in pursuit of his own fate, whatever that may be, wherever it may lead him.

Those as one steps from outside the cave into a world they knew not of, was it only natural for them to be overwhelmed with a sense of anxiety, of uncertainty? It was Tian Di who experienced these very emotions right now. Once a slave to the being known as Volkruss, an Ancient God of Destruction, as his designated vessel in which he would incarnate himself into existence. It was a fate that was severed instantly and with medical precision, something she hadn’t thought possible.

Perhaps there was some feelings of gratitude in her towards the knight-errant of Luna, alike one leaving an abusive relationship, she felt lost and unable to claim her own independence, requiring someone to lean on, to tell her what to do.

Perhaps Gail was that person now, giving her some guidance as to what to do from here on out. She knew little of the world outside the cult. She knew little, but what she did know, was that of Granzon. The machine that was essentially built to be her coffin, that which would be used to bring Volkruss into manifestation. Having once been decimated by the Kaiser, it was now reforming itself into its own being, though controlled by Volkruss’ Will.

Tian Di knew not what road to take from here on out, nor did she know where the roads would take her. All she knew was that Granzon was something more than just a machine to her; it was all that she knew of that remained in this world. If she lost that too…

...Then she would really be lost.

Flying the Mass Produced Asclepius was somewhat of a different experience. The controls were quite foreign compared to Granzon’s, but they were familiar to what she piloted in the very beginning, when preparing to pilot the Granzon.

Her eyes were focused forward, her attention directed on the idle Granzon. That was her target and she wasn’t going to let it get away. She couldn’t.

“Granzon… I won’t abandon you. I won’t let you abandon me.”

She bit her lip and pressed down hard on the accelerator, moving in at maximum speed to blitz Granzon.

He was glad to see she was focused, at least. Still, given they were flying into the heart of the maelstrom... They were going to need all the luck they could get. He took the Asclepius even closer to the mass of souls - and then stopped abruptly, pulling up with a flutter of the white machine's thrusters. He waited, for a moment in complete silence, as if... listening.

"Hey, Tian Di?"

Gail's eyes were on something, some... unseen movement, some detail that was beyond the visible spectrum as he looked upon the surroundings. To Tian Di however, there was at least... Something. A disturbance in the Negative Energy that flowed about them, like long, stilted legs stepping through a rushing river, leaving only the faintest of ripples as it drew closer... and closer.

"Whatever you're going to do... Do it quick." He said, tightly.

"We're not alone."

What is it? He asked himself, straining to determine the source of the vibrations. Even from his senses they were... masked, muffled. Could it be a DAMON? ... No, such entities weren't one for the subtle approach. This was more like... stalking. How long had it been there, watching their movements?

"...Show yourself."

There was a momentary pause, and then-

A shattering, a tinkling of ephemeral glass that rattled the senses as the stars near Gail seemed to splinter apart, as though the scenery were only painted on top of a roiling mass of incandescent colors. From the void created by the Dimensional Quake, a clawed, crimson hand snapped out of the mass, dragging its bladed digits across the face of the Asclepius.

Gail reeled back from the sudden force of the blow in shock as a broad-shouldered form began to force its way through the gap, another clawed appendage extending in her direction - from the gleaming red protrusions on its arm fired a series of four thin, almost thread-like lasers that lanced out towards her own machine as they homed in, carving and slicing through the void, aimed to pierce its arms, neck, and knees... All the while, two pointed, yellow eyes glared out at her from the space-time rift with terrible, terrible focus.

And then one by one, the twinkling stars flickered into being. Streaks of red, yellow, and blue flying side by side. Blowing past the twin stars of white and black, the shooting stars cut the night apart, blazing a path straight for their displaced quarry.

At the center was the flaming red of the Ignis Kaiser. The scanner in its belly locked onto the mass ahead, scrutinizing its makeup, its waveforms, the flow of ether and intangible energy across the field. Picking out the course of the stream the great boulder of death and bondage sat submerged in, where its flow was going and whenceforth it returned. The eagle's vision was beamed in real time to the azure bolt at its side - the massive air carrier, Aura Kaiser. There, the exceptional computing powers digested the data under Sir Bogdanovich's vigilant gaze.

Sir Bogdanovich: "No doubt about it - it's our bogey from earlier, and they're doing... something to it. Massing into something..."
Sir Kiraly: "Damn... not going to go down easy is it? Relay the data to the Fenossa, and advise that we're going to need all hands for this."
Sir Cascada: "Roger roger. They're going to have their hands full with that army though."

The Chevalier 01's eyes slid to the Aura at her left, and then to the equally massive golden aura to her right - the redoubtable submarine, Aqua Kaiser. The absence of their comrades was keenly felt, without the stalwart Terra Kaiser at their backs.

Sir Kiraly: "We'll just have to improvise then. Aura, docking mode. Let's see if we can get that thing moving so our ghost friends can't glom onto it so easy. Aqua, cover our six. All hands, fire at will!"
Bisen Foris: "Aye!"

Safeties released, hatches sprung open, and a barrage of beams, bullets, and missiles poured forth at the mangled Granzon and the spectral figures clamoring to its hulk. Even as they did, the Ignis and Aura underwent a transformation. Their hulls reconfiguring with such speed and complexity as to appear a few seconds later as a floating head and matching torso. The former clamped onto the latter, weapons still blazing, just as they reached their foe.

Its massive arms swung up to take hold of the hulk as they collided, the burning of its orgone cloud hurtling them all dead ahead, up the stream back toward its source. Close behind flew the Aqua Kaiser, a steady stream of beams and torpedos hammering the opposing hulk and the would-be components attending to it. Sir Kiraly grit her teeth as she stared down the eldritch horror before her.

Sir Kiraly: "... those guys better hurry up with the queen..."

The Mass Produced Asclepius ignored that which came at Gail, as well as the incoming Knights from Luna, making a beeline for Granzon. While it was still partially inactive, it was her best shot to work her magic.

Literally.

But alas, there were pests that stood in her way. The lunar trash that had already interfered once were now attempting to once again take Granzon away from Tian Di. She didn’t like it. No, she hated it. These people who got in her way, she just wanted them to disappear from her sight. She never wanted to see them again. They would come here and make things more difficult than it all needed to be? She was sick and tired of it all.

Materializing from what seemed like nothingness, a massive cannon appeared before the Asclepius Tian Di was piloting. The mech grabbed the handle of the controls of the cannon and took aim. The rear ‘tails’ shot back into cracks in the dimension, and began to pull power from elsewhere.

“G Dimension! Shoot!”

With a charge of the cannon, a great blast of darkened green energy shot forward in the direction of the broken up Kaiser pieces, seeking to annihilate both them and the projectiles they had fired off towards the Granzon. Caring not to see the aftermath of the attack, she ditched the cannon where it was and continued toward the blue mech, blazing forward at maximum speed.

Engaging the Asclepius’ Scramble Edge, Tian Di moved into melee, grappling onto the Granzon’s shoulders, securing itself to the machine. The Folding smashers extended from Asclepius’ hips and began firing away at the spirits that surrounded the machine, trying to clear away what it could, as well as providing point defense for any enemies or projectiles that came close to the two mechs..

Tian Di set the mech on autopilot, and opened the cockpit hatch, stepping out into the cold embrace of space, her pilot suit being the thin lining that kept her from a chilling death. She held out her arms and began concentrating her prana, casting a spell to Granzon. If it still had any record of Tian Di from being reconstructed, perhaps it would respond to her magic, and open the cockpit for her. This wasn’t the first time Granzon had become a wreck, and following the steps from last time, she would once again activate the machine; though this time under her own power.

Murmuring a chant under her breath, she continued the spell casting, her prana beginning to cover and envelop Granzon in its entirety, forming a thin membrane between it and the spirit soldiers. In first isolating the machine from the spirits she now hoped to use her prana to activate Granzon and have it work to her commands. Whether it would truly work or not, she wasn’t sure, but this was her best hope to regain the reins.

Fire from the half-formed Kaiser and Asclepius both rained down on the shell that covered the Granzon, pulverizing apart the frenzied souls that lend their life forces to its reconstruction. Through the torrent and the fury, the Kaiser's arms reached in, parting the avalanche of screaming spirits like the sea before Moses-

And suddenly, with a great fluttering, they were gone.

The spirits suddenly dispersed, as though scalded by the Granzon's surface, leaving the partially regenerated machine in the Kaiser's grip, as its eyes flickered uncertainly. Whatever malevolent energy that had possessed it seemed to have finally relinquished its grip, Volkruss perhaps recognizing that its investment in this shell had been one that was not well spent after all.

No - it had a better use for such things. One that was not contingent on the bungled machinations of its mortal pawns.

For Tian Di, and any among the members of Bisen Foris who were sensitive to the flow of Prana, that vital essence upon which all magic was conducted - there would have been a swift chill down one's spine, as though a gust of frigid air had brushed their neck.

The Spirits swarmed overhead, coalescing into two new points - and this time, the result was nigh-immediate.

From one, vile, bat-like wings emerged, connected to the back of a skull-shaped head wrapped in six leering serpent-tipped tentacles, flickering as they were dragged across the veil of reality from the dark depths of the Evil God's domain.

Its companion was no less hideous, an insectoid imitation of a human form with long white hair and cruelly hooked blades for hands phasing into existence among the stars - but its lower body was a massive, green multi-legged monstrosity, something of a cross between a dragon and and alligator, with a lizard-like head at the end of a long tail, and a pair of mechanical legs that drifted listlessly in the void.

Tian Di would understand full well what these apparitions were: Avatars of Volkruss. No greater demonstrations of the Dark God's power existed in all creation, and their presence alone was considered the stuff of miracles - even as Lao, privately, had dismissed them as "mere incomplete imitations, unworthy of worship". None had ever lived to behold them beyond the Cult's own, and none had ever survived opposing them-

And before the Kaiser and resurrected Granzon, the two colossal abominations began to stir, emerging into the mortal realm possessed by the same insane hatred of all living things as the original. A voice rang out that echoed in the heads of all present, like a horrific bell, consisting of the distant wailing of hundreds of thousands of souls, all interwoven into a chorus of woe and agony.


Meanwhile, Gail had managed to break free of his oppressor's grip, the Aslcepius' bladed forearm meeting the Arietis' own as they grappled with one another, neither seemingly able to get the upper hand. Tian Di had taken back the Granzon, so his work was done - he wasn't the type to overstay his welcome though. This guy, though-

"If it's a Sphere you're looking for, you're out of luck." He said unable entirely to hide the smugness from creeping into his voice.

"Am I, now?" Said the Lying Black Sheep, radiating nothing but confidence himself - though given his profession, it was impossible to gauge how much of it was genuine.

"An immortal soul such as yours shall suffice in its stead! BLOODY VINE!"

The Asclepius kicked off from the Aries' Sphere Reactor's machine - and not a moment too soon, as blood-red beams erupted from its surface. Dancing back frantically, the right leg was pierced by the flowing lights - and in an instant, was left with chunks of glowing red DEC, stabbed through its surface like gleaming spears. Gail sucked his teeth as he grappled with the controls, forcing it back under control as the Arietis pursued him, more bladed growths bursting from its body, turning it into a living weapon.

He glanced back at the opening it had made in reality, still lingering... and then, back at the Granzon. The former member of Pantheon gave a small, sad smile. Everything he had done had led up to this moment, and he wouldn't even be there to witness it.

(...Tian Di.) He thought to himself.

(Consider this debt repaid. You're free now. Wherever you go now... It's not for me to follow.)

The Asclepius paused at the opening of the Dimensional break, turning back to glance at its pursuer.

"You want me?" Breathed Gail, as the white machine raised a hand towards its foe.

A middle finger stuck up in defiance, as he grinned.

"Come get me."

And with that, he was gone - having lunged into the "place between places", where few could ever hope to chase it. Undeterred for even a moment, the monstrous Arietis plowed directly after him, lurching through the gap hungrily, claws snapping with anticipation... and the opening disappeared, fading from reality, as if it had never been.

They all felt it. Maybe it was consequence of being Psycodrivers, maybe just spending way too much time around dimensional energy, or maybe the run-ins with DAMON were taking their toll. Whatever it was, as Tian Di's MP Asclepius hefted its rifle and locked it into a crack in reality, a pulse went through the collective minds of the knights. Like the sound of bells, or at least a flexatone.

It also just helped that the Kaiser Scanner's perception was so accute.

Somewhere between the two, their minds were alerted to the danger about as swiftly as it was conjured into being. In that instant, uncounted hours of rigorous team training went into effect. The ability of the knights to sense each other's hearts and minds. The honed instinct and intuition. The sheer number of evasive patterns and planned formations. The endless tactical drills. And - okay, no, it wasn't really any of that. It probably... may well have helped! But to be honest, it wasn't that hard a call for them to make. I mean really come on, where else was there to go? When sitting in front of a boulder and someone aims a cannon at your back, you either hide behind the boulder and pray, or run like the wind. The joined Ignis/Aura, and the Aqua Kaiser - presented a binary choice, each had a 50/50 shot of doing the same thing as their counterpart.

So it was that the G-Dimension Shoot raced toward them. And so it was that, about halfway to tanning IgnAura Kaiser's backside, the intended target blinked out of existence. As did its counterpart. Both reappeared almost instantaneously in the shadow that Ghosto-Granzon was casting by the light of the cannon shot. And both were subsequently shielded as the beam instead washed over the many Spirit Soldiers, the boulder being pushed along by the sheer force of the beam. In order to both maintain relative distance and help distribute the readily offered font of ghost-incineration, the IgnAura Kaiser braced its mighty hands on the back of the giant glob of eldritch and began to roll. The Aqua holding position behind it, and both still belting out missiles and beams.

Or to put another way, given a large tumbling log caught in a coursing stream, half-a-kaiser opted to rapidly kick its arms to stay atop it. As a lumberjack does.

Soon enough, though, the MP Asclepius's beam began to wane. Having been thoroughly basted in fire on both sides simultaneously, the spirit soldiers were running thin - thin enough indeed that those flailing hands could finally latch firm hold on the sides of the Granzon's torso. Hands that then froze over in a green rime of Orgone just to be sure. And then, as previously mentioned, the orgone cloud kicked into gear. The arms locked in place, the torso between them rotated instead, the Aqua following suit to flip itself in place and face its propulsion to the Granzon's back. Aqua thus led the charge, IgnAura partially drafting, partially boosting in its wake. Three Orgone extractors working in sync, the green comet took off toward the surface, following the detected flow of magic evil waves back upstream to its source.

As consequence, this only made it even easier for the MP Asclepius to chase the end of its own beam and close the distance to the Granzon, latching onto the slabs of metal presently passing for shoulders, and allowing Tian Di to stand in the doorway of her open cockpit projecting an aura of hopes, dreams, comradery, and prana (okay mainly prana) to her mount. With all the magical potency of the crowd fervently clapping their hands to save a poor little pixie's life uncounted centuries prior, that prana aura indeed wound itself around the toasty remains of her dearest mechanical friend. And so the convoy of Aura Kaiser, half-a-Kaiser, half-a-Granzon, and photocopy-of-Asclepius barreled along toward the Lunar surface, spirit soldiers peeling off like so many patches of poorly-affixed rubber from tires just as badly in need of repair.


Behind them now, the ghosts were coalescing into even bigger and more monstrous ghosts. From Boo Didleys to bigger Boos that... well maybe they weren't quite big enough to be King Boos, but at least Jack Boos? And like any other reputable Jack Boos they flowed down smoothly, albeit with an acrid bite that some people enjoy if they're into that sort of thing. They were all too eager to warm all the machines and their pilots from the inside. And the assembly, knowing that, kept on merrily running away from them. They were headed primarily for the surface, roughly for the vicinity around the Apollo Ruins.

The half-formed Kaiser and its aquatic leg wingman maintained best speed as well as they could. At the same time, they also maintained that tenacious grip, the sheathe of orgone crystals both bonding their hands to the hull of the Granzon and providing a regenerative physical barrier against the MP Asclepius's tendrils should the auto-pilot attempt to assail them. Sir Kiraly hold course, only shifting her flight sticks as the scanner readings indicated, following the mysterious flow back to its source. It did seem to be working after all - now that they were closing in, the ghosts had peeled off, hadn't they? Sure, now they were hell-hounds nipping at their heels, but it was better than literally being in their faces.

She spared a glance for the proximity indicator. The Terra still wasn't back yet. It was a danger they'd been aware of, taken willingly. That the struggle to secure the queen and the one to nullify this apocalyptic unit, while ostensibly representing two different threats that were in opposition to each other, still managed to work in tandem to divide and conquer the moon's defenders. To save the queen, or to save the moon. Thankfully, such situations were entirely why Kaiser was built as a combining unit - few emergencies ever played out neatly, and fires weren't keen to line up for disposal. Putting them out meant being in multiple places at once, and trusting your colleagues to cover your back as you covered theirs.

On one inset was the camera feed of what was going on on the other side of the Granzon. The familiar sight - same suit, same build - of the Directory pilot they'd burnt so much Eitr to save. Speaking into the physical comms, her voice was carried by vibration out through the Kaiser's arms, into the Granzon's hull, through the MP Asclepius's fingers, up its arms, and out to the cockpit step Tian Di stood on.

"Bold of you to come back, after all we did to spare your life. This machine must be important to you, huh?"

As the lunar surface loomed ever nearer, the crew in the Aura sent signals back to the mothership to update their present location and situation. Close enough that it could have been in return, however, they now received an open broadcast from the Fenossa, the sound of Sir Richard's rallying cry echoing around their cockpits, further kindling the resolve in their hearts.

What was surprising, however, was when a subsequent relay carried the voice of someone else.


She couldn't help but to smirk at that. Goodness, mercy, the common bond of humanity. Perhaps even basic chivalry. These were the things they believed in - the reason they hadn't simply let this woman be gobbled up by the black holes she had sought to condemn others to. Knowing little of Volkruss or the backroom dealings of the Directory, to their eyes Tian Di was just a soldier like them - someone who took orders, someone who shouldn't have to shoulder the blame of decisions larger than her, or pay for others crimes with her life. She just doing a job. And likely, making sure a high level Directory unit didn't fall into the hands of another government was also one of those jobs. Or maybe she was just fond of it like they were of Kaiser - like many pilots are of their machines.

Whatever the reason, there was none to fight her anymore, nor to antagonize her with threats. She doubtless already knew what they could do. Instead, Sir Kiraly flicked a switch to bounce the transmissions back across the bonded comms, particularly the latter one. Then, she spoke again.

"Guess it's our lucky day... seems our commanders are of one mind, and our comrades are working together now to take on... whatever THOSE things are."

Hands pulled levers and flicked switches. And finally, with only a scant mile to spare from slamming into the moon, the proximity scanners gave Sir Kiraly the news she'd been waiting for. The IgnAura and Aqua alike flipped back over, the orgone crystals shattering at last, the hands parting from Granzon's sides. One moment they were all hurtling toward the surface, and the next...

The next, Granzon and the attached MP Asclepius were left to float gently down to the surface, under the delicate pull of Lunar gravity.

In contrast, there was a resounding crash as something else hit the firmament, and hard. Hard enough to kick up a sizable dust cloud. Within the cloud, the silhouette of a masive humanoid figure rose and stood. Its featurs obscured, save for the blaze of a pair of green eyes.

"Guess you have a choice. You're free to run away if you want. Or... you can stay and stand with us, and we can fight these monsters side by side! Whaddya say?"

With the shadows breaking free, Tian Di took the chance to slip into the cockpit of Granzon, returning once again to that which was most familiar to her. Settling into the seat, she took the reins of the machine, the Liberated Granzon fully and completely under Tian Di’s control. With the sensors and cameras turning on, she regained sight of the battlefield before her, and the now-approaching Avatars. Tian Di had heard of them in the cult’s teachings, but it was the first time she was seeing them in person. In a way, they were similar to how she was not but earlier that day. It was a surreal experience, but she held indifference towards them.

She had completed her goal, there was no reason for her to remain here. If one asked if she held contempt for the evil god of destruction, it was doubtful she could say yes. Having been born into the cult more or less, and been taught naught but of Volkruss and his greatness since she was but a child; despite being subject to his torment earlier, she felt no hatred or anger towards him.

She wanted to talk to Gramps, but it seemed like even that was impossible in the situation. With little else she could think of to do, making an escape was her best option. But the pesky lunar knights held their grip on the Granzon, preventing it from making an immediate escape.

“Granzon is all I have! Of course I came back!”

She spoke defiantly towards the Kaiserfolk.

“I am no soldier of the Directory, I have no reason to follow what he says.”

Granzon extended an arm out, a wormhole opening and a handle of sorts revealing itself from within. Granzon grabbed a hold of it and pulled it from its otherworld sheath, and swung wide in front, if nothing else to force the Knights off from Granzon. Tian Di began going over the systems of Granzon, seeing what worked and what didn’t. The results were… disappointing to say the least. Immediate escape wasn’t an option for now anyways.

Tian Di took a sigh and slouched back in the chair, weighing her options. After a moment of thinking she turned to the Avatars.

“Nor do I have any desire to work with you, I have no reason to trust you. After what you did, why would I?”

She spoke in spite to the Knights. Perhaps it was for a fair reason that the knights did what they did. They did what they did to protect their country and eliminate a threat. It wasn’t wrong to say that they even saved Tian Di from oblivion herself. Though to Tian Di, such matters were above her. She was still a child, one that was raised in a twisted environment. One who had no friends, who had no sentimental attachments to this world. Save for Granzon. Even if it was to be her coffin, that which would kill her and that where she would lie in the end, it was where she felt most comfortable. Perhaps it was strange to grow attached to a machine alike a mobile weapon. But just as a child bears attachment to the stuffed animal they sleep with, Tian Di was bonded to Granzon. And for that, what the Knights did, was unforgivable in her eyes.

The torso opened up on the Granzon, and energies began to form in the center. Though similar to the Black Hole Cluster, there was something... different about this. Lightning crackled around the formation of it and space itself began to shudder.

“...I just want it all to go away.”

Her voice shrank and her face grew somber. The energy began to peak, as Granzon faced one of the Avatars in the distance.

“Shukutaihou, fire.”

With her plain words, a massive beam of energy erupted out from Granzon, aiming to encapsulate the Avatar in its entirety. Several waves of energy coursed through the beam, before a final orb of darkened energy shot forth through the energy. Once it reached the Avatar, with Granzon’s hand, Tian Di crushed the dark essence in the palm of Granzon.

“Zàijiàn.”

With first an implosion, followed by an explosion that reached across all ends of the battlefield, alike the final moment of a star’s life, space collapsed in on itself from the degeneration pressure caused by the Shukutaihou. A spectacle likely even seen from the surface of earth, the area around the Avatars collapsed and burst forth in a boundless explosion, before being faded into oblivion in glittering dust.

All she wanted was to leave here with Granzon in one piece.

And she would stop anyone who tried to get in her way.

As the Kaiser and Granzon fell towards the surface, their nightmarish pursuers gave chase at a roughly equivalent breakneck pace. How the limbed one seemed to do so, as though it were pullingself forward doggedly through space, was something of a spectacle in and of itself - but the hatred that resonated from the Avatars of Volkruss were undeniable, fixed pointedly on the psyches of the red and blue machines before them.

The chest of hte Granzon opened wide, the curious protrusion in its center crackling with energy as the dying star was cast in the Avatars path. The winged one, seemingly wary of the danger, banked suddenly, spreading its foul appendages wide as it soared up and away with a speed that defied logic. The "Crawler", however, was not so lucky.

Emitting a silent scream of frustration, waving its monstrous scissoring claws manically, the duplicate lower half of Volkruss disappeared into the heart of the Granzon's most powerful weapon, churned into nothing more dust as its composite atoms were methodically ripped apart - God or not. The prototype "Degeneration Cannon" lived up to its nickname in every possible sense, as when the tempest cleared, there remained no trace of the foe.

The other, however-

With a horrific, psychic screech the Avatar's body shuddered in the sky overhead. The skull-like construct at its heart bobbed down with a sickening lurch, like a distended organ, as a vile glimmer lit its sockets. All about the pair, the forms of Spirit Soldiers were starting to once again become visible, as the Dark God's apparitions began to close in, heeding the dread call of their master, their robed, skeletal forms clawing their way forth from the Lunar topsoil. There were only precious minutes before they would be surrounded - and the assault would begin in earnest.

"GaAaAgHhHhhh . . . TrAItOR . . . !"

The maw of the skull opened wide - and emitted a glowing, circular magic ring, one that would have been immediately recognizable by Tian Di as the highest of those recognized by the cult, Volrkuss' name itself, directly overhead. The circle, a bright, incandescent pink that cast the surface of the moon in its flickering, unearthly light, grew wider and wider with every passing second, and the young prana-adept would have been easily able to sense the gathering of immense strength in the Avatar as it prepared to deliver its own crushing strike of retribution. About the two, chunks of the surface burst apart as erratic beams were spat by the encircling Spirits, not particularly accurate - but numerous, and growing closer.

How much time did they have before the ritual was complete...?

With the Kaiser's head, Sir Kiraly's gaze slid to the output readings. Several meters below, Squire Leth was busily keying in commands to adjust the power relays, prodding the freshly rejoined network back into equilibrium. Having only just docked, the Orgone Extractors in the upper two modules were balanced against each in a binary, while the lower two were at their own individual rates reflecting the strains of their respective modes of transit. Now the locks at the midpoint had opened and a deluge coursed into the thirsty reservoirs below. The metaphorical slosh of the energy made it challenging to bring all four simultaneously in line. Not that it as ever truly easy making four individual engines sing in perfect synchronicity - none too fast or too slow, too loud or too soft, but as close to mathematically identical at once as possible, and then maintain it.

It was no easier now that they were down a third of their membership, either. The empty chairs in the Terra, the absence of their minds and voices within the collective, were felt keenly through the machine. Sir Kovak's tranquility and prana attacks, Sir Grahn's steady hand, and Sir Pritshich's defensive expertise. Sir Rossilon's eyes, and Sir Praskowia's dexterity. Each was now absent. Here they were the lone knight on a lonely field, surrounded by specters clawing out of the dirt, an unholy monster menacing creation from overhead, and two rather unhelpful Terran machines near at hand. One of which had nearly initiated a holocaust on the kingdom, and the other standing idly by like a forgotten toy or a patient hound.

But. There was nothing for it, save to knuckle down and pick up the slack!

"Well alright. If you want to run away, then get to running. We'll cover you!"

The cocksure smirk in Sir Kiraly's voice was as yet unwavering. If anything it seemed to grow alongside the emerald light wafting off the Everglory titan. Far from offense, she sounded bemused at the response she'd gotten.

"And then we'll handle whatever's in those ruins over there. Good luck to you, kid!"

In her ears, in her head even, the others were chittering.

Sir Cascada: "Bhaskar Mode engaged!"
Sir Bogdanovitch: "Orgone Extractors maximum."
Squire Leth: "Cytron system, overdrive!"

The Red Knight of Courage gave a cheeky, unseen salute to the strange girl across the way. As the dust around it began to thin, there was briefly the visage of the Lunar machine, its body silhouetted against the ever-increasing glow from its fluttering cape. The scarlet of its body was slowly being overwhelmed by the verdure of both the Orgone Cloud and the latent energies of the Psycodrivers crewing her. A giant of light who strode the stars and fought with empty hands. Eight minds in harmony. Eight hearts seeking victory.

The next moment, the Kaiser was gone, blinked away to engage their foe. The titan reappeared in the light of the avatar's spell, staring down the maw of the massive skull and the magic circle welling atop it. There was pause, a clench of the fist and the arm that braced it, as their own swell pooled into it. To this certain doom before them, the knights raised their voice and grip in unison, that mighty hand erupting into emerald flames.

"Knuckle... BOMBER!!"

Throwing the arm forward in a mighty punch, the Kaiser lobbed a wall of fist-shaped flame headlong into the magic circle, with enough force behind it to jar the skull to its core, if not break the circle entirely. If that weren't enough, the corporeal fist didn't exactly stop its motion, and soon after the Knuckle Bomber collided with the casting circle, the Kaiser Knuckle delivered a punishing right hook to shatter the jaw just behind.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Metal ground on bone as the machine immediately pivoted off the contact, flipping around and dropping a weighty heel in an axe kick to the upper, more armored brow - the better to snap the massive bladed horn right off. Springing off that blow, it vaulted into the void above the winged beast, its cape fluttering as it whirled like top, a rain of missiles pouring from its shoulders and hips at the avatar and the Ghost Soldiers below. Once it righted itself at last, it came tumbling back down, hands joined, the angry psyco-orgone gleam once again wreathed around its fists, the bladed horn clasped tight between.

"KAISEEEER.... !"

"...HAMMER!!"

With all the weight and might the Kaiser could muster, it clocked the beast's crown once more. Using the horn as a nail, and its fists as the hammer, it let its bodily force launch the pair back down to the Lunar surface. Holding the pose the entire ride down, it vented yet more of its ordinance from its sides, the missiles aimed and tracked to provide covering fire for the Granzon should it indeed try to fly away. Only once the pair had hit the dirt with yet another resounding crash would the titan finally rise again, foot flat atop the avatar's armored head.

"Alright! WHO'S NEXT?!"

As the spirit soldiers began to rise around them, Tian Di clicked her tongue and looked around her, with a rather annoyed look on her face. Granzon’s purple eyes flashed in radiance as it grasped its hands in front of it.

“Now that I’m in this deep I don’t think I could escape even if I tried.”

A purple orb of dark energy grew in size and condensed in its hands before the blue machine tossed it into the air above.

“I’ll take care of these small fry.”

She spoke monotonously.

As the orb reached the space above a halo of purple energy waved out from the origin before the large sphere multiplied into countless smaller spheres of the same composition. Granzon looked to the ground around it, Tian Di taking note and locking on to all spirit soldiers within reach. She’d let the Kaiser deal with the avatar while she erased these things from existence. Having just used the Prototype Degeneration Cannon anyways, it’d be a moment before she could pull another move like that.

“With this much… Graviton Cannon, Fire!”

The sky of orbs above dropped down below each targeting an individual spirit, the torrential rain of gravitational distortions falling on the enemies, each contorting and rending apart the spirits into tatters, the rain continuing until their numbers were thinned out enough to be less than a threat.

Let this be the end. I want it to end.

It had been a long day. Far too long a day. Perhaps as if being awoken from a long nightmare, these past minutes have been a sobering experience for Tian Di, perhaps in the worst way possible, worse than any hangover or forthcoming withdrawal syndrome. As if the last 16 years of her life were ripped and torn away from her, made meaningless by the Kaisers before her, whether for better or worse. Yet at the same time, as if some great weight was lifted off her soul, her body was light, almost floating even; but as when one floats, they know little of how or where to move on their own. Just what exactly was she to do from this point onward?

Baleful energies rippled all around the Volkruss Avatar, wreathing its grotesque form in flickering, ghostly flames. There was still more than enough power left on the surface to allow for its revival to commence. Yes, so long as it still had the Granzon, still had the girl, it was far from impossible. No matter how powerful the two were, no matter how stalwart their souls, nothing could withstand an endless wave of the living dead!

Its skull gave a rattle of glee as it cackled to itself with delight - but the sudden burst of green energy below caused it to halt in mid congratulatory chortle. Graviton-spheres burst into the lunar sky before coming smashing down, cutting away entire ranks of the Spirit Soldiers, sending them screaming back into the void in futile hatred, having been denied the warm flesh they craved so deeply. Dust filled the Avatar's vision, but only for a moment - as the Kaiser came cannoning forth, filling its vision. The magic circle flared - and sputtered, the delicate runes shattered as a gleaming fist smashed through its center, sending spiderweb-like cracks all along its surface.

Screeching in fury, the Avatar spread its wings, jaw now hanging loosely from its body as it attempted to ascent - but the champion was there as well, spitting fire and death, missiles peppering the abomination's head as it struggled to find its balance. The Kaiser's kick slammed into its head, leaving a firm dent - and the beast responded, raking the claws at the end of its wings across the face of the Super Robot, but by that time it was too late.

With tremendous force, its own hammer came crashing down, followed in short order by the Kaiser's arms themselves, sending the two hurtling to the surface below, where it slammed into the lunar dust.

At the bottom of the crater, the skull jerked weakly one more time... before the foul light in its eyes finally died, and it turned to dust beneath the two's feet. As it did so, and the very last vestiges of the Evil God of Destruction's power was lifted from the mortal realm-

The remaining Spirit Soldiers about them slowly drifted to a halt. They simply stood, staring, as if waiting for a command that would never come. One by one, two by two - they began to fade, the captured souls of the damned that had been Volkruss' trade dispersing, filtering back up into the stars. The foul atmospheric tension that had filled the battlefield, the hallmark of Negative Energy being concentrated, began to lift... and it was as if a weight had been lifted from the shoulders of all present.

The evil had been vanquished, and Tian Di freed.

With Vayne still at large, it remained uncertain of just how long said freedom would - or could - last, but for the moment? The battle had been won.