Original Sin (Shadow Mirror)

[GEAR]

Date: Unknown
Time: 10:02 PM
Place: A Dying World

Under a black, starless sky, the forms of three large, Trilobyte Class carriers rested amongst the devastation that had once been their world. Nothing but ruin extended in all directions, a barren cityscape that had by now been picked clean by their operatives for anything of use. But... there was a reason they had chosen this as their last stand, even as the dark enveloped the Earth in a blanket of silence and stillness: It was the ideal location to wage a battle that one did not intend to win...

Yet more importantly, and at the same time, not to lose.

"All teams, report on the status of Operation Typhon."

Within the confines of the rearmost vessel, activity was rampant as the final adjustments were made. On the ship's bridge, its makeshift command center, field officers and operators viewed a monitor - map of sorts featuring a trio of lines that trailed out from their location, one in each direction of a triangle.

What they were about to attempt had never been done before... A true dimensional leap, one that would allow them to survive the destruction that had hung over their head for years now, as it slowly choked the life out of the last traces of life in the galaxy. It sounded almost too good to be true...

But they knew it was, for Prometheus said so. They put their faith in him, as he had in they, and now they were on the cusp of accomplishing their goal... If, and only if, they could outwit their persistent hunters...

Just one... last... time.

The radio crackled, and several images appeared on the monitor. A small video clip played of what appeared to be a massive apartment building. A set of explosions erupted about its base, and it fell - as if in slow motion - crashing into... Something. A voice came into being over the recording, and a set of Gespents could be seen darting away.

"This is Group Eins. We've successfully stalled "Mask". Plan went off without a hitch... We won't be seeing her for a while. Moving to Rendezvous point A."

The screen brought up a second visual, this one of several Gespensts high-tailing it across open waters. In the distance, something... lumbering was giving chase, skimming across the water... Slowly closing the gap in such a way that suggested it was taking its time.

"Zwei here! We've engaged "Owl" - a little later than we would have liked, but it's here alright! No fatalities yet... Currently luring it towards the refinery. Wish us luck!"

"Roger that. Drei team, what's your status?"

"We've got trouble!"

A cavalcade of murmurs filled the room as the operator assisting the team leaned in, listening for more details. A visual appeared of something... Dark blue, multi-limbed, and... feathered... darting clear over a group of Gespensts, leaping daintily over their heads, as though they were invisible, even as colorful explosions popped in the air all around it.

""Idol" didn't take the bait. It saw the flares, just kept going-"

"Can you intercept?"

"Negative, it's too fast! We're on our way, but we won't make it in time!"

The operator lowered her headset, turning fearfully back towards the assembled group, only to find her expression mirrored in each of their own faces.

"They're onto us." She breathed; pulling up the map once more.

"Let the Commander know."

 

[MKR]

Heavy boots met the steel of the floor in rhythmic steps, the fact that one of the three threats made it past the distractions was less then great but all of them accepted that that might happen. It is why he kept himself combat ready. Risking himself this close to the conclusion of Operation Typhon was of course not something that sounded appealing to his men, nor to himself but what he told them there was true.

"I will be our last line of defense, all of you have tasks required for the completion of Operation Typhon. I however do not. If not all goes according to plan I am best suited to halt whichever enemy breaks through."

Those were the words he had said, and when he heard that Idol had ignored Drei team it was time to follow up on them.

Into the hangar stepped a man, easily in his 60's and covered mostly by a large black cloak, halfway across the hangar stood his steed. Some would argue the greatest weapon at their disposal, he himself was not so sure of that fact. The men and women in the hangar saluted when he entered, one gave him a report that all the damage was repaired and all systems were functional.

"Thank you." He said to all of them "Thanks to your constant efforts we are able to even be here. Be ready to take in Eins, Zwei, Drei and myself at any moment. Godspeed men."

The rhythmic steps continued, Prometheus stepped towards the mech he had piloted since all of this began, a disastrous chain of events of death and destruction and here was his steed, having carried him for all of it and this would not be the last time they went out to battle together, he would make sure it wasn't. He removed the cloak and tossed it to the nearest man.

The cockpit was simple, he liked it that way, he placed his palm onto the controls. One small insertion of his prana was enough bring the machine to life.

A dust cloud arose as his mech hit the already crushed pavement. An artificial eye scanned the surrounding area, rectangular objects launched upwards from his unit, they too would survey the area. It gave him a map of the area and would let him pinpoint Idol.

As the dust settled the machine's frame would be revealed, it was not unlike a huckebein but instead colored white and green and at least twice the size of one, two massive red claws adorned each of its hands with a chamber containing a missile between them. It slowly stepped forward, further grinding the ruined scenery into dust as it moved.

Within the machine Prometheus looked around, their home had become a hell after the stars had vanished this would not happen again he promised himself. But first, they needed to get to another world.

 

[GEAR]

Prometheus didn't have to wait long. His foe emerged quickly - first as an electric blue dot on the horizon, growing rapidly in size until it took on a distinct form. It careened towards the ships, smashing through everything in its path like a thunderbolt - before the arrival of the Duraxyll caused it to slow, pulling up in the air with a distinct, electronic scream.

The Hypocrisis slowly lowered itself to the ground, blasts of energy fluttering from various ports across its statue-like body. True to its codename, it resembled an ancient idol of sorts - sporting four arms, four wings, and four crimson eyes the gleamed with malevolent intent as it looked upon the Duraxyll looming over it... Yet, from the reports gathered thus far, Prometheus would know that underestimating it and its ilk were fatal mistakes. Ordinarily, they had been content to simply... Hang back, to linger as the darkness took what it did, and to allow their minions to overwhelm those who defied it... But today, they had been forced to handle the situation personally.

What they were... Where they came from... No-one could say for sure. All that was known was that they came and went freely into the dark - the wave of nothingness that had swallowed everything else up, from which nothing but they and... things... returned.

A dark wind roared around the two of them, sending the ashes of the world scattering at their feet. Above, the sky churned, as the dimensional energy that held the world together trembled.

It wouldn't be long now.

"Strong..."

A voice crackled over the communications channel. They didn't even bother to disguise it... But... the voice trembled, anxiously.

"I am... strong." It said, in a cold whisper;

"I'm not a coward. I'm not..."

It sounded like... a child.

"I'M NOT!!!"

With a shriek, the machine tilted backwards, electric azure energy bursting from its body, making it a living lightning bolt. Electricity flashed out in all directions, pulverizing cars and blasting buildings apart, casting everything in hallucinatory strobelight.

The battle at the end of the world had begun.

 

[MKR]

The air felt thick, a dark omen now paired with the beeping of the Negative Energy Detection Device. The NEDD showed normal levels of energy, which was a surprise. The Shadow Mirror commander had expected much higher levels of the command units. Nevertheless, that was a mere detail compared to the other thing the enemy sent out, the voice.

The voice of a child was unnerving, but it would not be enough to deter Prometheus. Too much was at stake to worry about a child soldier. The Taó̱s tail returned to Duraxyll, clicking back into their position. A few of the lightning bolts stuck mere feet away from Prometheus but none hit the machine itself, but the anxiety in the pilot's voice did not go unnoticed.

"Your words and your tone tell two different tales child." the Prana based mech slammed its foot into the ground, a dust cloud reaching up to the machine's knee following in the wake of this step. Shortly after the thruster on the back of the machine launched it skyward,

"Return to the darkness from whence you came! You and your darkness may feast on the remains of this earth but should you intend to stop us I will not hesitate to cut you down. Consider this a warning shot!" The Duraxyll's chest opened, revealing a blue crystal within much like those on the Taó̱s tail bits. Energy built up within it and the two tail units on its shoulder rapidly, the three gems glowing in unison.

"Mega Smasher! Fire!" blue orbs of energy formed in front of the gems, flattening before a massive prana beam erupted out of each, the trio of beams collided with the ground below, beginning their course to the Idol.

The beams cared for nothing in their path, the concrete below parted as if it was butter in the wake of the magical energy and once nearly at the enemy mech, the beams launched upwards immediately, such was the benefit for the prana fueled energy beams of Duraxyll, they were an extension of Prometheus' prana and with it they bent to his whims, while it didn't allow for much in the way of precise movement and sharp corners bar the primary collision with the ground were a definite no, he could move them as he desired for any course correction.

Duraxyll halted its suspension in the air, plummeting to earth with all its weight. The machine's sheer size and weight did not allow for extended flight times just yet, that was still in the works.

 

[GEAR]

The Duraxyll rose in the air unimpeded as the strange machine merely looked on, listening to Prometheus beat his chest. As the chest mounted prana emitters lit up, however, the Hypocrisis blurred-

Prometheus strike pulverized the ground, blasting it apart, leaving a trio of craters. Nothing, it seemed, could have survived that... Until, however, the proximity alarms in his cockpit would have blared an alert - Above! Glimpsed in the machine's cameras, the foe was framed against the dark red sun, surging towards them in a cloud of crackling energy.

"You're a bad man...! All of you...! ALL OF YOU ARE WICKED!"

Like a bird of prey, the Hypocrisis swooped down, so fast as to be almost invisible. In its hands, beckoned from places unknown, it grasped a pair of long, sharp blades, whose edges hummed with negative energy. It ripped down, across the Duraxyll's shoulders, slicing with precision unknown to most across the exposed Taos Tail's, aiming to shred them from the machine's left shoulder in an instant. It was not a killing strike - not yet, no, but with the Hypocrisis sheer speed... It wouldn't be long...

"You deserve everything that's coming to you!"

 

[MKR]

Duraxyll's eyes shot up, the mechanical red gaze attempting to track the opponent. It shifted its weight to its right as it did so.

The Idol was fast, faster than anything he had ever seen. But there was one problem for it, the sky was his domain and if it wished to move like a bird of prey, it would deal with the same issues as nature's airborne hunters.

Prometheus channeled his Prana, despite his choice of name fire was not his specialty. No, the wind was. It was what allowed his precise control of the Taó̱s Tails and using Duraxyll as a conduit, an upwards wind would form. If the Idol worked as he believed this should slow it down and he could execute his plan, and otherwise the Duraxyll could take a beating it was built to be the first to enter and the last to leave a battle.

As the wind formed, pushing against the Idol, Duraxyll's hyper oscillation claws flared to life, the Shadow Mirror commander was no stranger to CQC and while it wasn't his forte he was no amateur and would not lose a battle merely because someone got close to him. If all worked out as planned now would be the time to strike, Duraxyll rotated around its left leg striking upwards and the claws, now flaring a bright right would go for where course prediction placed Idol after he had summoned the winds, he aimed to implant the deadly claws right into his opponent's chest.

Of course, this was no small task. Not even for someone with a lifetime of experience changing the course of the wind in such a large area was draining his prana rapidly. But first he had to see if it worked.

"Who are you to judge our actions! We fight so that our people may have a future that is more than bleak darkness and death!" Prometheus replied, he knew the folly of arguing logic with what seemed to be a child, but whatever this child may say could give him more of a clue what he was fighting for and in turn how to prevent it.

 

[GEAR]

The "Idol" danced and fluttered around Duraxyll, laughing with sadistic, childish glee, its blades leaving gash after gash on the machine's flanks. It was death by a thousand cuts, and as it crested into the sky, spears materializing in its grasp, its pilot was focused single-mindedly on their certain victory...

Perhaps... A bit too certain.

They had known about the Duraxyll, for they had eyes everywhere. The circuits, the machines - spoke to them, and from those electronic ears, nothing could ever truly hide... But this? This was not technology, no...

It was magic. And that...

She had not prepared for.

The sudden gale of wind slashed up from the green giant - and caught the Hypocrisis square in its center, causing it to lose its balance as it descended for the kill. The tradeoff for its lightning speed, that had been the death knell of countless of Prometheus' comrades... Was also its Achilles heel. Within the cockpit, a pair of red eyes suddenly went wide, pupils dilating into pinpricks.

"What? H-Hypocrisis is...!"

The child barely had a moment more to cry out, the machine attempting to right itself - before the Duraxyll's Hyper Oscillation Claws slammed home into its chest, the gleaming mauve glaives punching clean through its form. Around the two, feathers fell from the wings of the Hypocrisis, seemingly as real in their composition as the birds they mimicked... The ones whose song no longer filled this world.

"M... Mama-!" - There was last, shrill, desperate scream, punctuated with the roar of the claws tearing into the cockpit - and Prometheus' strike tore the slender weapon clean in half in a spray of sparks, blood and oil splattering in all directions as the twin halves impacted the pavement, leaving a mere sparking mess.

With the immediate threat seemingly conquered, there was the whine of an engine from behind the Duraxyll. The air began to grow... heavy, thick as Dimensional Energy began to condense. A hunded pairs of fingers crossed, as power was dragged from across the continent to fuel their undertaking.

"This is the Malta! Beginning jump!"

There was a flash, a bright light - and the lead Trilobyte class vanished, turning into a brilliant white beam that lanced up into the stars with a sonic boom before fading into nothingness. The air grew still, and steam roared out of the generators... And at last, a cheer went up from the wearied survivors. They were going to make it, it seemed, after all - thanks to Prometheus.

"Transfer system stabilizing... Seven Oaks, get ready to-"
"LOOK OUT!"

The second announcement was interrupted by a shout - a futile warning just a moment too late.

A pair of beams suddenly erupted from the center of the middle Trilobyte class, traveling horizontally to brutally, agonizingly tear the craft in two, before dissipating... immediately after, the entire vessel detonated in a furious explosion, throwing up a cloud of black, acrid smoke in all directions over a chorus of screams. So too, did carefully crafted parts of their assembly - too many of them exposed, too many substitutes scrabbled together in desperation - the flames quickly spreading along their makeshift power lines, sending up a chorus of blasts in a chain reaction that rocked the earth beneath his feet.

Fire.

Everything. Everything burned. All their hard work, months and months of scraping, of surviving, of fighting a running battle with abominations and other survivors alike - it all was in flames. And at the center of it, was the man named after the one who had given it away in the first place.

Fitting, that.

Through the heat haze, however... Prometheus might have been able to make out a shape approaching from the direction of the attack. It floated through the flames, hovering over the proceedings, like some bastard mockery of the angels of myth, sent to oversee the final end of the world.

​

"...Nona..." ...It said solemnly, in a feminine, unearthly voice;

"...Why didn't you listen, sweet child?"

 

[MKR]

His ploy was successful, he may have been cut repeatedly but he both didn't obtain any major damage and his claw had found its way into the eagle that desired to devour his liver once more. But even as he tore into the Idol intending to rend it asunder he couldn't help but feel bad for this kid. To have been condemned to a life of that darkness and a path of death nevertheless he did not stop, he couldn't stop. Too many of his men had fallen to the Idol and its kin too many to let the child live even as it cried for its mother.

As his unnatural gale ceased, the air grew thick once more. But a good thick, the kind that inspired hope as that white line across the sky went out for another world, a better world. With this he knew their dream would not die here but there were two more ships up here with him, and he would not let down his guard until both were in that better world.

The second ship was about to leave, but then it wouldn't. Instead it had been scattered to the winds and fire took over the area. He finally realized why people always imagined the end of the world as a burning landscape of destroyed buildings without a sign of life, as a hell on earth.

It was because that was the truth.

Here they were, the last humans on earth, in that hell so many had depicted years prior, the rapture had long since begun but it finally revealed itself and then there was the shape in the distance, a faux angel here to punish the wicked.

Prometheus stepped over the remains of the Hypocrisis towards the voice, he made a new record, alongside Mask, Idol and Owl.
The Duraxyll's eyes snapped pictures of the being and put them in the new folder titled, 'Codename: Mother'.

The Taó̱s tails all again went upwards, but now they rotated above Duraxyll in a circle, not unlike a halo for a being ten times its size.

"So you are their mother? Do you also intend halt our efforts?" He said.

He knew that he didn't know anything about this Mother, but retreat wasn't an option. Nor was backing off. So he just had to stand his ground while the last Trilobyte attempted escape. The ground rumbled slightly, but it didn't make him worry. It just meant his escape was also prepared should the Trilobyte succeed or fail.

 

[GEAR]

"What would it matter, even if I was?"

The reply was immediate, and the thing turned its "gaze" upon him. A pair of jeweled organelles of sorts regarded him... But were those truly the creature's eyes? Or did it somehow see, without seeing? There was not one human characteristic about it, but it talked candidly to him all the same.

"To defend your people, you would kill me all the same. Such is your nature." It said, matter-of-factly.

It descended, floating lower to the Earth. If it was weary of the Taos Tails... It didn't show it. It extended a lengthy wingtip - and brushed it against the top half of the ruined Hypocrisis, wiping the blood from its features before gently pulling it close to its frame.

"But first, I must understand: Why?"

Once more, it raised itself off the ground, having gathered its dead. The thing's pressure was... Oppressive, as though one's head were being placed in a slowly closing vice, simply by being near it... Yet there was no immediate indication of why such a feeling would be present in the first place. Perhaps that was how the creature "saw" him - by placing him under a magnifying glass for its strange, yet evidently vast and curious mind.

"Why do you flee? We will find you, as we always have. Why do you cling to life so desperately, knowing that there is only desolation awaiting you?"

 

[MKR]

Duraxyll took a few steps back, allowing the enemy to reclaim their dead. Doing otherwise would be evil of him and while Prometheus knew he was no saint, he also was no demon.

The pressure on his mind was unnerving, but he could still act just fine, the question was a surprise too although not too much of one. Whatever this was it seemed to have nihilistic views.

"I gave him the same warning with the same promise, if you intend to stop us I will have to defend my men but if you let us leave in peace there was no reason for conflict." He answered, looking to the weird being carry away its dead.

"And I suppose the simple answer to your question is the statement you gave yourself. Such is our nature. We keep fighting against the dying of the light because we desire to live, to defend those who put their faith in me I stand in the darkness so that we all can see the stars once more." He closed his eyes for a second before looking up at Mother.

"You may hunt after us all you wish, but as long as there is even a glimmer of hope there will always be someone out of your reach and as long as there are people there is hope, be it our escape plan or anything else. Do you understand why we hold onto life so dearly now?"

 

[GEAR]

"What an elaborate, comforting fantasy you have constructed."

The creature seemed... Thoughtful, contemplative... But it's response to Prometheus' question was immediate, and dire. Nothing that had wreaked as much havok on humanity could ever truly have seen any value in it, after all... but until this moment, the exact nature of how that was the case had never been truly explored - simply by virtue of the fact that none had ever escaped an encounter with this... thing... alive.

"Hope. Fear. Determination..." It continued, as the flames roared about them, seemingly in no hurry even as personnel rushed to put out the fires, and restart the transit process. Was it merely that certain of victory? Or did it genuinely not care for further destruction?

"Chemical reactions, geared towards self preservation, that you interpret as 'real'. As emotion."

It's 'tone' sounded... Sympathetic, somehow. It was as if it were talking to... an animal, a somehow lesser being than itself... and pity dripped into every syllable. Even as it minded the body of the fallen Hypocrisis, it seemed to not regard Prometheus as any real threat.

" It is not your fault." - It said, sounding almost... remorseful as it did, "It is a product of your... inefficient... construction. I am... Sorry."

 

[MKR]

Prometheus listened to the being speak. He listened silently, the tone of pity and remorse was not something he had expected when coming onto the battlefield today.

"Many debated the same over the ages. The question of how truly alive we are. But the thing is, does it matter? Does it matter that everything we experience is a chemical reaction in our brains? Would it matter if what we believed was a fantasy?"

He shook his head inside the Duraxyll, the machine itself simply standing there. Taó̱s tails still whirring above its head.

"No. Because we still experience these events, it doesn't matter that our brains are wired to become happy when eating chocolate, it doesn't matter if what we experience isn't real. Because we still experience them. As for emotions, maybe they are fake. But by using them we learn and we grow."

Prometheus looked at the creature.

"Evolution is far from a perfect process and you are correct to call it inefficient. But it brought us here. Nevertheless, I have yet to hear a substitute for such progress that doesn't involve growing humanity in a test tube."

Whatever he was talking to didn't seem to regard him as any threat, now may be as good as time as any, if not the only time he would be able to, obtain some information about it.

"It seems you are quite aware of mankind and its perceived flaws, but I must admit you are unlike any being I've seen before. Perhaps you could educate me on what part of the picture we're missing and perhaps yourself?"

 

[GEAR]

The creature seemed to listen. What was it waiting for? ...A distant explosion rang out, signaling that perhaps, it had not merely paused for the sake of conversation after all...

But to allow its cohorts time to tighten the noose.

The radio crackled to life once more, confused shouting filling the airwaves:

"This is Eins! We're boarding right now - Drei is here as well - Where's Zwei?"

"...This is... Zwei…"

"Come in Zwei, status report!"

"We couldn't... Hold it... Be care... ful… "Owl" is... two..."

The transmission faded to static, and silence filled the communications lines once more. As if on cue, the creature spoke up once again.

"Humans have such little imagination. You cannot conceive of a better way, therefore it cannot exist."

...That voice. It dripped... Contempt, like one who had found a cockroach scurrying about in their home. An eerie haze began to envelop the monster, and it seemed to... Envelop the form of the Hypocrisis it had been previously cradling so affectionately. It quickly spread, and the hairs on the back of Prometheus's neck may have stood up, that faint prickling of the skin and metallic taste in the mouth, indicating that Dimensional power was being brought into play.

"You are irrelevant. Inefficient. You will be exterminated - to the very last human cell. Not a trace of you will be permitted to taint the new world."

A massive claw burst from the left hand side of the entity - a bloody crimson scarlet, far from the soft-off pink creature that had emerged prior - a cruelly hooked sickle and an ornate, vestigial wing unfolding from its form as it flexed. The mass seemed to swell, a series of rapid changes overtaking the monster in mere seconds...

"I am Duminass… The offense of your imperfection is your original sin."

From the right hand side, another appendage erupted - this one ending in a series of metallic barrels, its rear tipped with the remains of crude feathers, as though it had literally torn its way out of the creature.

"I have extracted the information I required. You value your flaws? Your weaknesses? Your frailty?"

At last, the "head" of the creature jutted out from the haze in its new form - a pointed, metallic arrow-shape, with a pair of sinister red eyes, backed by a regal crown of bloody arrows that jutted up into the sky, like the Devil's own headdress. The haze faded - and the Hypocrisis was nowhere to be found. Instead, "Duminass", or so it called itself, had reshaped itself into... Something that appeared far more suited for combat, its exterior now hard, and keen.



"Then perish clutching them, together with this broken world!"

 

[MKR]

Prometheus grit his teeth, the metallic taste not helping he made a quick mental note that this 'Duminass' devours its fallen allies to gain strength and as such to never allow it that opportunity again.

The Taó̱s tails began to pick up speed, beams of energy haphazardly firing in Duminass' general direction from it as it rotated. Duraxyll stepped forward, each step grinding the already destroyed pavement to dust.

This opening barrage had two purposes. It was both intended to force Duminass into position and the damage to the area would make his getaway easier. For the latter purpose he opened a line directly to his remaining forces.

"Get out now. Owl is on the way and this being calling itself Duminass wants to erase every trace of us. The first reasonable chance you have at a jump. Take it I'm going to come with Group B."

His attention returned to Duminass, the initial barrage had lasted long enough. Duraxyll halted its approach, its form covered by the shadow of its Tails above, its eyes flashed red as the Tails realigned themselves, with its transformation Duminass had given him plenty of time to fire his strongest attack.

Two groups of four and two groups of five Taó̱s tails interlocked, hovering above the Duraxyll, blue energy forming within them as the machine that commanded them raised its right arm upwards.

"You have entered a fight you cannot win. One against every world. But I understand it is futile to even attempt as much as talking to you so instead I have three words for you: Buster cannon! Fire!"

Duraxyll pointed forwards, the energy stored within each and every Taó̱s tail was unleashed at once in a wave of energy, four beams each with the destructive force to erase a lesser machine many times over reached for Duminass in a torrent of light rocks were flung around haplessly by the sheer power of this beam.

One side of the beam scraped alongside a building next to the monster, the pent up energy within the blast would release itself eagerly, first a singular explosion and a second larger explosion as it reacted with the other beams. A pillar of fire erupted as the beams faded. Duraxyll simply stared as the destruction unfurled. White light soon overtook the area. Duraxyll was not exactly a weapon to be used for stealth or in fact any subtle operations, but when it came to raw destructive power few could match a fully charged Buster Cannon.

Yet Prometheus doubted this would be enough to erase Duminass and especially with Owl inbound he remained on guard, he could not release that attack too often or he's be out of energy.

For now the Taó̱s tails locked back into place, the metallic cloak they provided nicely added to the elemental machine's defenses.

 

[GEAR]

The light from the Buster Cannon's blasts of pure prana energy converged on Duminas… Yet the creature remained calm, even as brightness enveloped it. The power of Duraxyll's finishing move lanced out, casting a wave of destruction across the landscape. Buildings, power lines, everything it touched was disintegrated utterly... Until only a blasted Hellscape remained, as the Taos Tails returned to their owner. For a brief moment, it appeared the creature had been vanquished in a single, righteous strike...

...If only fate were so kind.

"Up here."

Overhead, Duminas rematerialized, as if stepping forth from a plane of shadow, reality wavering and contorting around it as it emerged, framed against the sun... Entirely unharmed. Had it simply used its power to step from one plane to another? Or was it perhaps some form of teleportation?

In response; the dread creature raised its clawed hand into the air - the feathered protrusions behind its head erupting suddenly into being, like a startled crow. As they did, they... Morphed, in the same fashion as their host unit, each one vanishing briefly under a haze to emerge... A lengthy, keen blade, suspended in the air. Numbering over thirty total. Duminass' palm straightened - and the blades turned as one to the Duraxyll below.

"Die."

...Then they came crashing down, a rain of blades from the skies, all at once, aimed to turn the Super Elemental Machine into the world's largest and most expensive pincushion.

 

[MKR]

Inside the Duraxyll its pilot frowned, were he to have a chance there needed to be a countermeasure for what it was Duminass had just done. Perhaps if some of their tools had not been used for the jump across space they could've been fashioned into a weapon against this. But for now that didn't matter, it was a concern for after this battle, especially given that exterminating the pink creature was not his goal currently.

The legion of blades suspended above him were a dark omen, the super elemental machine lacked enough speed to evade all of them and made for quite the large target but with the tools at his disposal, he could at least prevent taking the full brunt of the attack. The older man took a few deep breaths through his nose, doing this action once had already taken its toll on his prana but it was do or die now.

Winds turned to his command and a gust bellowed downwards pushing against the projectiles, meanwhile the large thruster on Duraxyll's back ignited launching it upwards. The maneuver was effective, mostly.

While the top half of Duraxyll avoided damage and with it saved Prometheus' life, the massive machine's legs were another tale. The storm of swords would nearly annihilate the left leg and deal a hefty amount of damage to the right. The subsequent landing was much less gracious then when it first came to the ground to halt Idol. Then it landed just fine, now its left leg nearly collapsed in on itself.

Shifting its weight around to its right leg Duraxyll looked upwards, the man inside giving a defiant glare at the monster that aimed to destroy his very being. The machine itself raised an arm upwards to it, the grey compartment between the claws opened up and a missile shot from it, its target was Duminass but a hit was not the intent behind the strike.

Even exhausted from his repeated use of magic, there were two thoughts on the mind of this faction leader.
One: Make sure the last Trilobyte escapes safely.
Two: Get as much information as possible about his foe.

He had gotten Duminass' name, their intent and at least a few abilities with who knows how many more. But their escaping the Buster Cannon unharmed, the main question now was how frequently it was wiling or able to use the technique used.

In the meanwhile, if Duminass was observant enough it might just notice a slight shift in the scenery apart of Prometheus' newly created hellscape. The pavement between the last Trilobyte and Duraxyll seemed to have been pushed up somewhat while the pillar of flame had consumed the sight of everyone in the area and it began creeping closer to the combat area ever so slightly.

 

[GEAR]

"Commander!"
"We have to go!"
"But...!"
"Beginning jump!"

The crew of the third Trilobyte cried out for Prometheus one last time - before they too vanished over the horizon, blasting up into the black sky... Hopefully, to a better place. The jump drives they had so carefully constructed finally gave out as well, collapsing in on themselves as part of their plan to cover their tracks, with a wretched screech of twisting metal.

Now, it was just him... And the monster.

As Prometheus landed, were he to fathom a gaze upward at the falling swords, he would have beheld Duminas, one of the eldritch blades clasped in its clawed hand, descending swiftly towards him like an Angel of death. It raised its weapon-fused arm as the grenade smashed into it, leaving a dark crater across its surface - but which otherwise failed to slow its pace. It reached back... And swung, a bifurcating haymaker slash brought down with enough force to split heaven and earth, aimed squarely atop the Super Elemental Machine's head.

If Duminass had noticed the shift below it - there was no indication. It fought in conspicuous silence for once, its manic gloating, for the meantime... Muted.

Meanwhile, another explosion rippled through the camp, as another machine announced its presence.

A tremendous hand - seemingly part animal, part metal, part human - reached out and shoved a protective barrier aside as if were nothing more than paper Mache. It was thick, rippled with musculature - and like the Hypocrisis before it, a mass of feathers bunched around golden-amulets. It had no "head" per say - rather, a pair of beady red eyes peered out in insane hatred of the world around it from atop a beaked mouth, as "Owl" brute forced its way past the last of their defenses. It stood easily over 60 meters tall, towering over both Duminass and Prometheus both.

Seated atop its shoulder, was a far smaller, daintier machine, whose legs airily kicked gently. In its hand, it carried the bloody head of a Gespenst, tossed up and down as if it were a simple toy, its winged head - cast as if in the effigy of a doll, or an ancient totem, turning quizzically to regard the battle between Duminass and Prometheus.

"Aww, dead already? ...How boring." - Whined a voice - a child's, again - this time one that resonated... A kind of joyful cruelty. Nothing in the world was quite as cruel as a child... And if the previous example had been any indication, this one had all the skill and strength to enforce their will just as much - if not better, than any adult.

"Where's Nona? ...Don't tell me she ran away again."

 

[MKR]

"The one you call Nona is dead. First by my hand and then their remains were absorbed by Duminass." Prometheus calmly answered, with a confidence quite unlike one would expect from someone in his situation, the reason for which was revealed as a cacophony of whirring filled the air, the ground behind the Duraxyll bulged upwards.

The pushed aside pavement was heading to Prometheus' position at a break neck pace and just as it passed the Duraxyll a burst of concrete sprang upwards, a yellow and red drill of titanic proportions now seeing the light of day for the first time in too long, for how much light yet remained in this starless world to behold. The shift of the rocks caused by this appearance more than compensated for the damage to his legs, pushing the Super Elemental Machine back and out of the range of Duminass' strike without as much as lifting a foot.

More of the drill's source would unearth itself as the Flagship chosen by Prometheus himself, the Kurogane, perhaps the most subtle large scale ship created. It had dug itself underneath their last stand, as the command center of Typhoon it had to be kept secure let alone the fact it contained the source of these jumps. The commander took a fateful step towards the drill unearthing itself, adjusting the grindstone that had only feasted upon dirt and concrete today towards a more suitable target as more of the ship became exposed to fresh air.

The black and red ship was already prepared to receive him, a hangar door flung open for the elemental machine.

"If you are as devoted to my destruction as you claimed, and running is as futile as you said, I will await you on the other side. There we can settle this." Shifting over to the comms of the Kurogane he spoke up again.

"Go now, don't give them a chance to attack."

Now they just had to make the jump.

 

[GEAR]

"..."

Duminass simply... Watched, feathers falling from its form, as the Kurogane vanished over the event horizon. It had no parting words, no vengeful howl... For it knew that this barely even qualified as a setback, in the grand scheme of things... And that Promethus's escape was only temporary.

The same mist from earlier that had concealed its form once more covered it... And the wreckage of the Hypocrisis reappeared, nestled gently in the wing of Duminass' original appearance, the strange-balloon like entity that had overseen the piecemeal destruction of the galaxy. It laid the broken weapon on the ground once more, contemplating it, in silence. The Teugatail and Pater lumbered over as well, the smaller machine falling to the ground as its guardian faded into the dark, waiting to be called upon once more.

"Is that blood?"
"Yes."
"Gross."

At length, the two were joined by a third machine. Covered in dust and debris, the Elios - easily the strangest of the three machines, with its oversized, triangular head and winged staff - made its way towards them, hovering over the rubble. As it caught sight of the Hypocrisis, however, it hurried forward as fast as it could, pulling up to a stop just beside the other two, their little family now once again whole.

"Nona...!"; It's pilot - a thin, whispery voice, that of a young, frail-sounding girl - gasped;

"Is... is she...?"

"Do not look." Instructed Duminass firmly, its only edict as it continued to study the wreckage, gently tracing the chest of the Hypocrisis with an outstretched wing, lost in its own unknowable thoughts.

"Oh...!" Gasped the Elios' pilot, her voice choked with emotion; "Oh, Nona...!"

"Dead as a doornail. Yep." - Teugatail's pilot said, flippantly, "Serves her right, rushing in like that."

It gave a shrug of its shoulders, surprisingly expressive for such an awkwardly designed machine, continuing idly:

"Whatever. I didn't really like her anyway. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

For a moment, there was a deathly silence, as the Elios simply looked downcast. Unbeknownst to the Teugatail, its grip tightened on its staff, and the next words from its pilot were so quiet as to be almost inaudible.

"...your fault..."

"What?"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

A horrifying crash echoed through the air as the staff of the Elios lashed out, smashing violently into the side of the Teugatail's head causing to spin. The smaller machine buckled - only to be met with another vicious, hammer like blow from its sister unit as it seized its outstretched arm in a vice-like grip, and forced it to the ground, raining strike after strike upon it. The pilot's voice intensifying into a shrill, agonizing scream of pure hatred.

"Because of you...! Because you were always bullying her...!!"

The Elios raised its staff for what seemed like the final time, its angelic head enclosed in a sphere of energy, like a massive mace, gripped in both hands.

"IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU, DECIMA!"

A cry of fear finally forced its way out of Decima's lips as the weapon fell toward her - but there was only a dull thud, and a spray of flaming plumage, as the Elios's mace hit only pink feathers, sparing her from any further retribution. Duminass spread a wing between the two of them, finally finding its voice.

"Enough, children."

The Elios wrenched its weapon free, the energy fading from its head, as its face turned towards Duminass, a pleading tone making its way into that whispery voice:

"But, Mama-!"

"All things occur in accordance with the Akashic Records. So too, was this outcome foretold."

It reached out, and grabbed a hold of one of the wings, affectionately, giving Duminass a slight shake that caused it to reverberate where it lay, almost comically.

"...You can fix her, right Mama? You can fix Nona?"

There was a long silence, as Duminass contemplated an answer. All things, it knew, occurred purposefully. Nona's actions were part of a greater pattern... albeit, one that had been concealed even from itself. Something, it sensed, was amiss - the entire episode, it seemed, had been calculated... But to what end? ...There was a terrible sensation of dread, one unfamiliar to it, that was seeping through its body as it responded, albeit with less confidence than it would otherwise have liked:

"...I will do what I can, child."

Elios' pilot brightened immediately, the machine burying its face among Duminass folds, crying gratefully:

"Thank you...! Thank you Mama...!!"

...Around the three, the dark closed in. Duminass reached out, allowing the damaged Teugatail to take the end of its outstretched wing. Carrying the remains of Nona, the three slipped into the darkness, its inky blackness surrounding them like a blanket... Yet they felt no fear, for it was here that they dwelled - from which they were born, and to which, some day, they would in all likelihood, return.

"...Let us go, children."

...And with that cheerful quip, they faded into the night, looking for all in the world like a mother holding hands with her children, as the final howl of a world consumed followed in their wake...

Followed only with darkness... and silence.

 

[MKR]

The ship violently shook for the moments spent in dimensional limbo. But it was just for a moment as the ship noticeably felt slower now.

Prometheus stepped out of Duraxyll, looking to its legs for a moment before one of the crewmen called out to him, there was something to see according to the captain and they had been right. The supreme commander stepped out to the main deck alongside so many others already there, waved cascading below the floating ship.

The men and women outside were cheering as if they were at the greatest concert ever created, all because of a simple thing. The night sky above them had stars.

A smile came upon the older man's face, he looked to his surroundings the lights of a pair of Trilobyte class were seen a short distance away, one was distinctly the Malta and the other its sister ship. A sigh of relief came over him, only the Seven Oaks and Zwei fell today. He hadn't hoped anyone would die, but they had all entered the field aware that they might not even arrive at all.

The commander headed to the bridge of the Kurogane as his men admired the night sky they had only seen in their dreams for so long. He was met with salutes from the bridge and the temporary captain stood aside, this ship had served as their main command center ever since that vile darkness forced them out of their main base and now the true captain was on deck once more.

Prometheus sat down, and one of the crew members spoke up.

"Commander, our GPS is working."

The remark caused a raised eyebrow from the man, for that to be the case there needed to both be infrastructure for it and it needed to be compatible with their technology.

"Where does it say we are." Prometheus simply asked.

"55°01N, 149°38E sir, right in the middle of the Sea of Okhotsk."

There was a moment of contemplation. "We're heading west disable the radar. Open the channel for the speakers on all ships." he said.

Prometheus rose from his seat. Once he had gotten a thumbs up from the communications personnel he spoke up.

"Today we have done what none have before us. Operation Typhoon was a resounding success but not one without loss. The crew of the Seven Oaks alongside Zwei squadron could not make it here with us today. Valued comrades and friends were lost for our Odyssey and the dream we fought to preserve."

Prometheus looked forwards.

"I will not let their passing be in vain, for all those lost over the years we carry on. Their ideals and hopes live with us, the least we can do to honor them is carry along the path we carved before. We now know what threatens this and every world and we can prepare for it. I vow today, that as long as I live that darkness that consumed our home will not do the same here."

"The ideal world we fought so hard for to create and preserve, it may now be ash but as long as we remain that dream, that hope will never die. Today we mourn the fallen and revel in the starlight we have craved for so long. It is rest long overdue after all we have went through and rest you all more than deserve, but our trials are not yet over. This world, our new home, we must return to our roots and learn from it. To graft from this mold the world we all strive for we must understand it, that will be our task. It may take years but we will recreate that which we lost."

The ships turned west, Prometheus sat back down in his seat. They needed to establish contacts with the factions in power, estimate their technological level and create a base of their own. All tasks that would take years, all they while they needed to ready themselves for Duminass and its 'children'. Only time could tell how successful they would be...