Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Digimon Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Sonic Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Ultimatum 3: Trance Trauma ❯ The Last Jump -- Part 3 ( Chapter 19 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Last Jump: Part 3









The Van Eltia's internal power room hummed softly. It was filled with machines of exquisite Celestian design, vast reactors reached up to the nearly mile-high roof, massive tubes carrying datalyte to various areas of the colossal ship to be processed and sent back on its way with information to deliver to other subcomponents. It was still not as coveted to the original contractors as the great Craymel synthesizers through which the Greater Craymel donated their power to the primary systems, but merely the vast area it occupied was enough for anyone to see.

A group of people stood at the very bottom, on one side of a giant hole in the floor. Another figure stood on the other side, facing away.

Ultramagnus shrugged, folding his arms afterwards. "Argetlahm certainly looks a lot more majestic than it ever has. It certainly is painful that I don't have that kind of audience watching as I rend you all from limb to limb."

"Mm hmm." Farah mumbled as she spat in her hands, rubbing them together.

Gohan shrugged. "Say what you want, even if we do somehow lose... you have the rest of Argetlahm and a very angry Smasher fanbase to deal with."

Ultramagnus flashed a toothy grin. "You make it sound like that's of my concern. Listen, boy, keep in mind that I am more powerful than ever before... and you do have more than one Magnusi to deal with. As a matter of fact... you have much more than that."

"I am lost." Balkan's eyes narrowed.

"Hey, what are you expecting?" Ultramagnus suddenly rose in pitch, tossing his arms up. "This is the Magnusi's last stand! Do you think we're going to be going easy on you? You have more than the Magnusi to deal with... you have the Magnusi ITSELF!"

"That doesn't help immensely," Vegeta frowned. "You're just as dense as before."

"If you can't understand 'Magnusi's last stand', I would love to suggest a suitable tutor. He teaches all manners of subjects from grades one to six." Ultramagnus spat out the last phrase with a prolonged hiss. "I've crushed a dimension under my heels before, and there's nothing stopping me from doing it again. What happened to that eternal damnation Argetlahm was supposed to have given me last time? Dare you try your hand again, and by yourselves hope to replicate the entire war of the third dimension in this room, in mere minutes?"

"You sieged a dimension and can do it again," Gohan readied himself. "Conversely, we've kicked your ass and we can do THAT again."

FWASH

Before anyone could blink, Ultramagnus had already crossed the gap between the two forces, and was ready to swing downwards and pound Gohan into the ground. V2 intercepted the fist, and held it back.

"Not you again." Ultramagnus grimaced. V2 yelped as Ultramagnus spun 180 degrees in place, driving his foot at V2 and knocking him clear from his view with a deafening crack. The rookie-digimon flew limply into the side of a reactor, collapsing against the floor.

"V!" Gohan shrieked.

"Worry more about yourself." Ultramagnus huffed. Both threw their hands forward, connecting with each other with a loud thud. Ultramagnus roared as he thrust forward, throwing Gohan down against the ground. He suddenly rocketed up, spinning and driving his foot down into Gohan's chest. Gohan's pupils dilated as he felt every trace of air leave his lungs. Ultramagnus finished by turning once more, forming a Ki charge and setting it off directly in Gohan's face. Gohan screamed as the white-hot energy threatened to render him faceless.

"Enough!!" Balkan leapt forward with his arm outstretched, but that too was stopped by Ultramagnus' own. Vegeta lunged out after and gripped the open limb, but instead was also submitted to Ultramagnus' control as he slammed them both into the ground at his side with relatively little effort. Farah watched blankly as what existed there of Argetlahm was promptly pounded into smithereens. All four people were either unconscious or barely operable from their high-velocity impacts with the artificial terrain.

Ultramagnus spat on the ground. "Hm? Can't say I didn't warn them. As for you..." Farah blinked again and her entire head was in a deathgrip, Ultramagnus' hand already clasped firmly onto her scalp. "...you seem a little boisterous to show what little power you have... truce?" he paused for a second, beginning to frown as he got no response from the woman. "...alright?" Ultramagnus began to twist his palm, sending pain shooting through Farah as she felt her head beginning to twist to degrees it obviously hadn't been built to withstand.

"ALRIGHT?!" Ultramagnus prepared to deliver another death-inducing pivot - but as Farah had experienced, Ultramagnus received a sudden surge of pain in his gut as a fist travelled at subsonic velocity into his abdomen. He nearly buckled at his waist 180 degrees as he was hurled backwards into the reactor adjacent to V2, crashing straight through it as sparks danced across the ground and datalyte dribbled out to only electrify it further. Farah stood stanced, already haven turned to her side as her palm arced with Ki.

"Ow." Farah finally winced as she rubbed her head painfully with both hands. Ultramagnus launched back through the gap he created, spinning as he planted his own fist straight into Farah's chest. She let out a shriek as she flew into a large stack of datalyte canisters, them all collapsing in a heap on top of her. Ultramagnus began to advance, but slowed down as a single drum of datalyte flew up and crashed down in front of him. Farah stood from the top of the wreckage, cradling her arm.

"...hmm." Ultramagnus smirked casually as he stared down the rapidly-tiring martial artist. "...that you can much as take an attack from me is interesting... but you even do a better job of it than these halfass Saiyans. I commend you, as little as that will mean when I crush you."

"The honor is mine," Farah wheezed. She glanced around impatiently - she thanked Seyfert for simply providing the divine intervention needed to survive what she had been put through so far, but she had to find a way out of the fray. With three others downed in mere seconds, she wouldn't last up close and personal either.

Farah grit her teeth as she hopped down off the stack of datalyte canisters. Ultramagnus was advancing; slowly but surely, with quite a taunting spring in his step. "...don't let this end... Eric, hurry up!!"


********


Eric slumped down against the wall, quickly losing his aura. "...ugh.. auugh..." he panted as he lowered his head into his lap, only raising it again to watch as Magnus did the same. "...why isn't this working...?"

Magnus wheezed for a moment as well, before slamming his fist against the cold metal wall. What normally would have reduced the barrier to rubble didn't as much as dent it. "How can I be so weak?! Surely another Trance in this dimension can't drain my power THIS much!! But if so..." he slumped back again. "...it only makes me wonder how all the other derivatives of Trances in this situation are feeling like..."

"...maybe it's your Trance exhaustion that's causing this..." Eric mumbled. "...or maybe you simply can't Trance while another form of yours is in Trance. I guess you simply can't mess with the dimensional fabric like that..."

"Don't give me that bullshit," Magnus' head snapped up. "If dimensional stability were so sacred, then all this goddamn Trancing wouldn't be occuring in the first place. Wake up, kid, there are rules in place that need to be broken. Let's try this again."

Eric slowly began to power up. "I don't know... I'm running out of things to think about that would make me angry..."

"I'm certainly not." Magnus threw out his arms, growling as he tried desperately to concentrate what little remained of his energy. While his normal yellow aura returned to its proper place this time, it wasn't hard to tell that it was extremely diluted.

"Hmm..." Eric shrugged. "A power level of 300... you're getting better."

"Give it a rest." Magnus tried to maintain his concentration, causing the aura to flicker slightly as he talked.

"Alright... let's try this again..." Eric stepped forward, sticking both his arms through the gold mist that surrounded Magnus and clamping his hands down on his shoulders. Eric as well began to concentrate, beginning to summon some of his own anger. Finally he let his head drop, and his head twisted as he let out a feral yell - as did Magnus. Eric, however, stopped midbreath as a massive pulse of energy disrupted his thoughts and numbed his mind momentarily. As he began to drop back, Magnus as well lost control and began to lapse out of his power trip. Both regained control just in time to brace themselves against the sides of the corridor.

"W-what was that?" Eric mumbled.

"...it was an energy reading." Magnus sighed. "Antimagnus'. Nothing new."

"...but it was... REALLY noticable... wasn't it? Like everything else in the area was blocked out?"

"...sort of."

Eric paused, before frowning. "...we're getting closer. If we're unwittingly focusing on his Trance, then we're obviously trying to do something to it... I guess it isn't a question of can it physically be done, but do we have the power to do such a thing..."

"Maybe if he's distracted or knocked off guard, it would be easier for me to leech the Trance?"

"That could be true," Eric replied. "But we wouldn't know that for sure if someone actually tried it."

Magnus glanced up, seemingly staring right through the ship itself. "I think that might be our ticket."


********


Millenial advanced on the group slowly, letting a reptalian hiss escape from his maw as he divvyed up his targets. Shaun, Keele and Charmy all stood on the exact opposite of him, with the tank, Melanie and Max directly inbetween. Millenial's eyes suddenly shifted as the tank began to slowly roll out of the way. He quickly flipped up his hand, blasting apart the treads on his side. The entire vehicle tilted slightly on the broken wheels.

"Ah, crud." Max sighed.

"I'll deal with YOU... LATER!!" Millenial's arms glowed a bright blue as he turned them to his left, unseen forces picking up the entire tank and flipping it through the air. Max quickly pulled himself inside, slamming the lid shut, while Melanie bounded off and rolled to a stop as the tank landed perfectly upside down.

"How are we going to do anything if Ultimanium isn't up?" Charmy quipped.

"We can do just as much as Ultimanium can..." Keele stared down Millenial. "...if we hit him right."

"So how do we hit him right, genius?" Shaun sighed.

"That..." Keele dropped off. "...will take some examination."

"AEON FORCE!!" Millenial threw his hands forward, and with a thunderous crackle cast forth a bright blue laser of solid electricity. With a synchronized screech, everyone dove out of the way as the jolt tore straight through the wall behind them.

"Burning Force!!" a bright sphere of flame grew on the tip of Shaun's gun, suddenly launching.

"Aqua Edge!!" Max lied sprawled on the ground underneath an open area on the tank, charging up his own attack. A light blue cresent of energy spouted from the end of his hand cannon.

"Ray!!" Keele, tossing his staff aside, slammed both of his fists together, a nova-white sphere growing around them. He suddenly rocked back in place as it began to spew bolts of energy.

"Spiral!!" Melanie pointed her parasol forward with one hand, it closing again as its tip emitted a wide corkscrew laser.

Millenial blocked the Spiral with one arm, deflected the Aqua Edge, ducked under the Burning Force, and still managed to block the Rays somewhat as they drove him back slightly. He raised his head again, his grimace as wide as ever. "...this is a joke!! I have better things to do... than watch your little magic show!!"

"You should be watching the Trances."

"Wha-ah!!" Millenial suddenly felt his arms buckle behind him - Charmy grabbed on tight.

"Hey... I still need to try this out. And I need a volunteer." small fields of energy appeared around her wrists. Suddenly, she flew over backwards, viciously smashing the dragon against the floor. Fissures spread rapidly from the point of impact.

"Hurraggh!!" Omnimanium rocketed out of the shadows, and was soon upon Millenial as he still tried to right himself from Charmy's grasp. He boosted forward again, driving his fist straight into Millenial's torso. Charmy broke her grip, hopping several feet into the air as Millenial literally handflipped onto his feet - and stared right into Omnimanium's palm.

"Spirit Surge!!!"

Everybody shielded their eyes, and soon, their ears, as the massive field erupted from Omnimanium's hand. An inhuman screech pierced the light, almost as if the Trance was combusting alive.

A scaly hand burst out of the maelstrom, securing Omnimanium's throat in a deathgrip. "..urk."

"You aren't doing any better," Millenial growled. "...no better than before. You are a disgrace of a Trance... even that.. girl had a lot more going in keeping me bound... and you had to take advantage of that to even grace a blow on me!" he squeezed tighter. "I've learned my lesson... and I doubt you have." Omnimanium started to hack as Millenial tightened his grip, threatening to drive his talons deep into his prey's throat.

Shaun rubbed his chin. "...are you sure about that?"

"I am quite definite." Millenial never bothered to look back. "It would appear you have your Mega Launcher armed and ready. You aren't thinking of attacking me with that peashooter, are you?"

Shaun smirked. "...I could be."

"Shauk... kk.. don't..." Omnimanium slowly began to cough as his consciousness began to fade.

Shaun watched solemnly as Millenial's head started to pivot. "...well, do me a favor and remind me to destroy you next."

"...you won't be destroying me." Shaun casually remarked. "...my name is Shaun Garin, and for your information I am ages more powerful than Ultimanium will ever be... I have crushed worlds, and I will crush you."

"...huh?" Charmy said blankly.

Millenial's smile nearly stretched off his face. "...oh, is THAT so, Mr. Garin? Tell me, then, why do you fight with such an inferior firearm? How about you just come over here and show me how strong you are? Obviously you have no perception of true power!"

Shaun chuckled. "...yeah."

"You are a WEAKLING!!"

Shaun watched.

"...YOU FOOL!!"

And watched.

Millenial reeled back, his head turned to the celing as he let out a shrill laugh, exposing his bulky neck.

"I'm not the master of perception..." Shaun held up his cannon. "...but I know an idiot when I see one."

Millenial paused. "...hmm?"

"RAGE LASER!!!" Shaun screamed as a ball of lightning gathered on the barrel of the gun nearly spontaneously. A massive bolt of light leapt from it, clearing the distance between the two and striking Millenial. Hard.

On his neck crystal.

".......................ee." Millenial felt nothing as his pupils dilated into nothingness. He reeled forward, landing hard on his knees as limitless pain coursed through his body. He paused again, falling forward onto his hand as he began to breathe in ragged gasps.


********


Eric leapt backward. "What the hell!!..."

Magnus gripped his scalp tightly. "He's lost it! He's lost it!!"

"Quick, we have to try this, one more time, before he can get back on his feet!!"

Magnus flipped onto his feet with a newfound vigor. "Then let's get this over with!!" he hunched himself over, letting out a low growl as he began to gather his energy. With an inhuman scream, he threw his hands back out again, as his gold aura returned to power. "...what's my power level?!"

"1000!" Eric shouted.

"It's working!!" Magnus let out a deep laugh. "...Magnus is back in action!!"

Eric slammed his hands down on Magnus' shoulders. "Keep going!!"


********


Millenial writhed on the ground as energy began to crackle over his body. "W-wwwwhat's happening-g-g-g-g....!!!!"

"How does it feel to be the one bullied?" Shaun spoke with a harshness that no one had been aware of. "Being kicked? Smacked? Divvyed? Given the proverbial crotch-shot of fate? It's past due that you and the Magnusi paid for their crimes against Creation..."

Shaun provided the cue for everyone else to come forward. Keele and Melanie reluctantly stepped forward. Omnimanium, still on the ground, began to recover his breath as he slumped over to Millenial's near lifeless form.

"He won't stay down for long."

"No. I won't." Millenial phased into thin air, and reappeared in the very same location, standing up. As he swung out his hand to sever Omnimanium's head, it was stopped by Omnimanium's own. Millenial lashed out with his other, but that too was slowed down. As both of them stood hand-to-hand, Omnimanium hopped up into the air, starting to boot Millenial directly in the chest. Millenial was rocked in place by the flurry of feet, and was only spared when Omnimanium finally swung back and forward again with both feet and pounded Millenial directly in the face - he was sent flying back as Omnimanium disengaged, staying in pretty much the same place. Millenial crashed into the wall, rooting himself deep into it.

As Omnimanium raised his hand to deliver another wave of Ki blasts to the stunned Trance, he suddenly froze.

"What's going on?!" Charmy glanced between the two. "...c'mon, finish him already! We've come too far t-"

"No." Omnimanium sighed. "We've already done all the damage we need."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shaun growled.

"The Trance is losing power..." Keele clenched his hands together, beginning to charge up another Arte. "...but why... it's almost like its power is being drained..."

"Someone's drawing his Trance from elsewhere." Charmy blurted.

"What?" Keele glanced between the two. "How's that possible?"

"I don't know..." Charmy looked just as perplexed. "...but being a Trance... I can see the energy leaving... and heading in all directions. Like this.. and this.. and this.. and.." Charmy continued pointing off in different directions, still talking. "...and it's really, really distracting."

Melanie continued to stare as Millenial writhed on the ground. Somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that they had actually woken a sleeping giant.


********


Falco ducked, spinning place as he righted himself. He glanced over his shoulder as the large chunk of debris hurtled backwards at the hellish swarm of probes behind him.

"Could you just... calm down?!" Tails growled. "You're not helping any..."

"So Van Eltia waste is more important than you? Hey, I can buy that." Falco glanced back behind himself again, at least as good a look he could get pressed against Tails, as they continued to shoot through large openings in the duct seperators. Behind them, the Deadlies seemed to be keeping quite a pace. "...hey, could we, you know, possibly speed things up here a little...?" Falco glanced back behind him. Exactly as he had suspected, the blood-red cloud of death was slowly beginning to trail the two, the cloud molding itself to shoot perfectly through the duct seperators, dodge random datalyte pipes and evade any other random obstacle that Tails expertly manuvered by.

"PULSAR!!" Falco felt his breath leave him. Appleton was clear as crystal - the Deadlies were on the offensive.

"TAILS!! MOVE IT!!" Falco screeched. He watched painfully as the cloud split again, severing into five detatchments - they all formed mini-cannons, and made a screeching click as they all began to orbit in a circle. Soon those five split into five more, beginning to orbit within their groups as well. Finally they locked in place, and began rattling fiercely as they began to spray nearly hundreds of tiny bolts of energy at the lone Argetlahms.

"Wha... AH!!" Tails dropped suddenly as waves of pulsar fire began to rocket around him. Soon Falco was being jerked around wildly as Tails did his best to navigate around the Deadlies' siege.

"Take.. more.. TURNS!!" Falco hurled himself to the right as hard as he could, taking Tails with him. They both spiraled out of control, plummeting into a side tunnel. The walls of the corridor quickly shrank as they forged deep into the subduct, and the Deadlies again were immediately behind.

"That's it!!" Falco yelped. "They don't have any room to manuver!!..." he slapped his hand to his side, tearing his blaster from its holster. Flicking the safety off, he began to fire his own bursts of energy at the trapped Deadlies. The ruby-red lasers were evaded by most of the Deadlies, but several within the center of the cluster were hit, exploding and offsetting the others. As the swarm slowed down slightly, Tails burst out the other end of the tunnel, into another transfer duct. Appleton burst through the center of the ring of Deadlies, nearly as if he had entered from another world.

"You cannot escape!!!" Appleton screamed.

"Of course..." Falco smirked. "We wouldn't be around to play chicken."

"Another subduct!" Tails huffed.

"Take it!" Falco felt himself lurch again as Tails pivoted onto his side, diving into the second duct. Once again, the Deadlies followed suit. Falco began to grimace as the light within the shaft began to dissiapate, but frowned once he noticed the radius of the tunnel rapidly declining. "...uh... there's no way in hell we can both fit through there."

"...right." without a word, Tails screeched to a halt - launching Falco straight through the gap.

"WHA-WHAT-AH-AAUUGHHH!!!" Falco flew out the other end of the duct, beginning to arc downwards as the gravity of the Van Eltia began to take effect on him. He was headed down. And towards the wall. Very quickly. He closed his eyes and made a silent prayer as he continued plummeting towards the side of the transfer duct. The prayer took an effect, causing him to fly straight through one of the large plexiglass windows on the side of the duct - and, travelling faster vertically than horizontally, face-down against the ground with a delightful thud.

Tails screeched to a halt at the end of the tunnel, his rocketpack whirring down as the flames died on its end. He glanced over his shoulder as the Deadlies homed in on him, hugging the sides of the tunnels as they spun wildly, threatening to rend the young fox from limb to limb.

"SHOCK.. WAVE... PULSAR!!!" Appleton thrust both limbs forward, riding the tide of Deadlies like a horseman of death. Again the Deadlies seperated, winding around each other as they began to charge up bright blue auras around the individual probes.

"I thought you would've gotten the point a minute ago..." Tails thrust out his finger as his other hand reached for his belt. "You're playing by my rules now..."

"I assume someone does not realize power lies in numbers..."

"I assume you never realized in the last subduct we were small enough to actually manuver properly. As for your bulk of parasites..." Tails continued digging in the pouch on his side as a dark grin crossed his face. "...I predict a traffic jam in the very near future."

Appleton seemed to relax. "What are y-"

"Catch." Tails droned. He finally removed his hand from the bag, in one smooth motion lobbing a grenade into the swarm of Deadlies.

"..N-NO!!" Appleton screeched. "MOVE... MOVE!!" Appleton began to backpedal through the air to the opposite entrance of the tunnel, but was still taking up most of the duct, also denying the Deadlies any fluid movement. As the Deadlies fritzed, colliding with each other as they tried desperately to shove their way out of the duct, Tails rocketed out the other side, barely escaping and pulling up out of the subduct as the grenade detonated, collapsing the tunnel and creating a gigantic spout of flame that bellowed out of both ends of the duct. Before Tails could focus his attention on what was occuring in front of him, he was suddenly knocked off course as everything around the duct suddenly disintegrated in a deafening explosion of electrical energy from the Deadlies caught in the blast. The transfer-duct-barrier underneath Tails was torn to shreds by the flaming debris, ejected from the wall at virtually every angle conceivable to Tails. He twisted to his side, pulling up again to escape the explosion as it only worked to intensify itself. Soon the shockwave began to crawl both ways up the wall, setting off every single piece of external equipment it came across.

Tails spiraled upwards to the opposite wall of the transfer duct, narrowly evading the blast nearest to him. He lanced upwards, extending his fists ahead of him as he directed himself at another window far above him. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, he carried straight through the plate, utterly destroying it and placing himself within the Van Eltia again. He quickly pitched down to avoid the celing, and quickly deactivated his pack - he dropped towards the ground, bouncing hard against it. As he landed he turned on his side, slowly losing speed as he rolled to a halt on the cold, hard floor of a generic Van Eltia corridor.

He waited there for a minute, breathing in ragged gasps. His eyes turned to a celing light, which hung, fallen out of its socket. Tails had obviously hit it hard on his way down. Slowly, he began to pull himself back to his feet. He quickly began to limp away, vastly ignoring the pain that playing victim to the many dozen shards of the broken window had caused him. Checking for any Deadly survivors was not in his personal interest.


********


"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Takato mumbled.

"For the last time..." Reid stepped up to the end of the corridor, posing himself to the side of the great steel door that resided there. "...yes. I'm taking you exactly where Raul told me to take you."

"I can't help but feel I've been here before." Tron glanced the heavy door over. Its shine, while quite noticable, probably meant its certain construction from unearthly metals. It was certainly a byproduct of Celestian engineering.

Raul never turned, instead stepping through the crowd towards the door. "Perhaps you have been."

"Oh, you'd BETTER not be leading us in circles," Peppy muttered. "My legs are ready to fall off as is."

Raul shot Peppy a particularly cold stare. He quickly turned back to Reid. "Open it." Reid nodded, turning and planting his hand against the organic-looking panel next to the door. It made an odd clicking noise, before flashing a bright blue. With a loud crack, the door slowly began to slide apart. Fox poked his head out of the group.

"You lead us..." Fox's eyes suddenly bugged out. "...BACK TO THE HANGAR!!!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Raul simply strided through the open gates, his arms folded behind his back. "All of you, come."

"..." Dante paused, glancing between the group and Raul. "...what's going on here?"

"You have all done your time on Argetlahm," Raul continued. "The Grapplers have been cleared from the Van Eltia and those that remain either pose little threat to the Van Eltia or were foolish enough not to join in the Grapplers' mass exodus of the ship. I commend you, I myself was wondering how you would manage to achieve tactical superiority over the Grapplers, but it has be done."

Locke stared out into open space. "...so.. then what?"

"The J3 has been on standby for the past hour. Another anti-dimensional field has been created, and has provided enough energy for all of you to return to the Argetlahm. Afterwards, you will be shuttled between the Magnopolitian cruisers to be returned to your homes."

"Wh-what?!" Cody seemed to writh in place. "We're just going to..." he made several more gestures with his arms. "...pack up and leave? What about Antimagnus?" Crono seemed disgusted.

"I can understand how some of us want to keep on going..." Reid tugged at his collar. "...but take a look around you. We've managed to force back the army of the Grapplers, but we've already sustained major casulties in other areas of the ship... and elsewhere the Smashers are running low on motive. And even in the first place we couldn't afford to drag them into direct conflict with Antimagnus, it'd be like throwing lighted matches at a battleship."

"...listen intently when I say this... but for all intents and purposes, we can't afford to drag ANY of you into direct conflict. It'd be like throwing lighted matches at a battleship."

"...what are you talking about?" Heero grimaced. "...we have some vague resemblance of power... every bit must help."

Raul watched the group fidget, before turning back to the open hangar. The antidimensional field had already secured itself around the open side of the hangar like a giant sheet of plastic wrap, ready to pick up anyone who went into it. "...as most of you are aware, Antimagnus is the most powerful Magnusi in the Six Dimensions. And, appropriately, Millenial is the strongest Magnusi in the Seven Dimensions. This is the last battle against the Magnusi itself, as per say... and this is the end of Argetlahm. Our story has come and gone. Now, it is Ultimanium's task to deliver the finishing blow against the Magnusi."

"You want us to jump ship and let Ultimanium finish off the Magnusi." Rika interjected.

Slippy turned to face the group, shrugging. "I can buy that."

"I can't."

An audible rustle was heard as the entire battalion turned 180 degrees. Standing at the very rear, a distance away, was Helmut - he stood hunched, dozens of gashes in his clothing from relentless Grappler attacks. His hair was ruffled beyond recognition, but what was most discerning was the drilling glare that pierced straight through the crowd to Lord Raul - one that seemed to drop the temperature of the entire corridor ten degrees.

"And why is that?" Raul cooly replied.

"There are other Argetlahm members not accounted for." Helmut barked back.

"Waiting for us?" Glenn rounded a corner, followed closely by Captain Falcon. They both waved as they readied their guns, forcing them downwards to eject the empty clips in both.

"Those who remain here do so as an act of fate." Raul's eyes narrowed. "The ones remaining... shall assist Ultimanium. The others shall come with me."

"You want to get out of here." Helmut's face twisted into a snarl as he stepped forward. "You want to save yourself."

"I want to save these crewmembers." Raul shot back.

"You're hiding something."

"It's a question of futility, Helmut," Raul stepped forward, nearly plowing through the group. "There are forces here out of your control, out of these peoples' control. We have to step down and allow Ultimanium to concentrate his efforts."

"And tell me, my good man, why would ONLY Ultimanium and the remaining Argetlahm crew members be able to stop Antimagnus?"

Raul's eyes seemed to take on a whole new fire as he advanced again, his footsteps threatening to crumple the ground beneath him as his own aura lit up. "Do you want to know why? Why we are all senile and useless? I will tell you why. Antimagnus is nothing to us now. The Magnusi Prime has come into the mortal realm. No one here save for the highest-power-level warriors can as much as receive a glance of the powers at work here. We must evacuate them and allow those directly involved in the prophecy to play their parts!"

Helmut seemed to shrink a foot as Raul finished his speech, rapidly advancing on him.

"...Magnusi Prime?" Cody called out. "...what is the Magnusi Prime? Is it just another Magnusi...?"

"I intended to hide the truth from you... because I knew that if I informed you that if more powerful Magnusi made their presence known... I knew that Argetlahm would rush to Ultimanium's aid. It has happened, and will always happen. But that is sheer madness now. Do not attempt to correct me, do not give me any pep speech, you stand absolutely no chance against the Magnusi Prime whatsoever."

"Bu-"

"The Magnusi Prime is not a Magnusi. He is the ruler of the Magnusi. And the man that watches the Magnusi of the dimensions resides a dimension higher. So... there is not six, not seven, but eight dimensions that exist to the mortal world. The Magnusi Prime is an avatar of the eigth dimension. The Grapplers were unified under his banner, Millenial's power is vastly bolstered by his presence, Ultramagnus has been resurrected, and I fear the Magnusi Prime himself will intervene directly in this dimension if the upper hand against the Magnusi is ever achieved. Everything Argetlahm has worked for has been reversed, and invoked again - at a much higher scale. Do you see how futile your effort is?"

There was a dead silence in the corridor.

"If you to any extent value victory and/or your very lives, you will do well to leave the Van Eltia immediately. Only I will remain... as will Magnus, Shaun, Eric, Charmy, Falco, Tails, Gohan, Vegeta, V2, and Farah."

Reid blinked. "B-"

There was a flash - and Raul was far behind Helmut. "BEGONE!!" slamming his fists hard against the ground, the air rippled briefly before a deafening crackle filled the air. In the period of seconds, a high-density subtractive magic barrier lied between Raul and the rest of Argetlahm.

"Son of a bitch!!" Samus hurled herself at the barrier, but quickly felt herself being slowed down by the remainder of the group.

"Calm down!!" Takeru yelled. "That's subtractive magic.. anything that touches it.. gets deatomized. The only way that I know of getting through it would be through a certain form of etheral teleportation, and even then it's a delicate proc... h-wha?!"

Takeru was already on the same side as Raul.

"...come." Raul gestured down the hallway. "...you are the Seeker. You have some obligations to fill. Shall you assist me in this dark hour?"

Takeru glanced back hesitantly at the group. The looks he was receiving in return wore greatly upon him - it was definately the look of unfortunate foreboding. Almost like as if each and every person there was losing a friend. Slowly he turned back to his former master. "...let's go."


********


Farah bounded to the top of a stack of crates, still evading Ultramagnus as he calmly stepped towards her. There was a faint glimmer in his eyes before he was up in the air, ready to smash his hands into the heart of the stack of boxes. Farah yelped as she leaped back into the air from the top, narrowly escaping her perch as it collapsed into a pile of debris. She landed hard against the ground. She attempted to pivot to face him, but found her arm in the air blocking his.

"Rggah!!" Ultramagnus grabbed forward with his other hand. Farah's eyes widened as she leant back, feeling herself start to reel up into the air - pushing her head back forward, with her feet in the air she only did something that could be described as running on his face. Ultramagnus' head rocked back rapidly before Farah finally slammed into his face with both feet. Ultramagnus flew back with a stunned grunt again, letting Farah drop hard on her back.

Ultramagnus landed on his hands, nearly instantly throwing himself back onto his feet. He grimaced once more, balls of energy growing in both his hands. He slung them forward, taking a deep breath. "NEO CRUS-"

He rocked back again, almost as if he was hit by another forceful blow. "...what the hell... Antimagnus... me?.. what the hell is going on?! His power is-" he glanced back up, just barely noticing Farah's boot slamming into the side of his head. Ultramagnus was thrown back against the ground as Farah arced her leg once more, smashing Ultramagnus' head hard against the ground.

"If you would be so kind as to pay a little more attention..." Farah muttered. She waved her leg again, smashing Ultramagnus repeatedly against the hard floor. All of a sudden, her leg seized up - as Ultramagnus gripped it tight.

"I'm a little more difficult than that." Ultramagnus droned. He tightened his grip, his hands beginning to glow an intense yellow light. "...all I need to do is grab on. And hold on. I've been a bit more lenient... but I see you're not deserving of that. I have the power to send a high-frequency Ki charge through this appendage and blow you to pieces. How would you like that?"

".....ah..." Farah's pupils shrank. "E-Eric?!"

Ultramagnus eyes shifted. Another similarly-styled Saiyan stood behind the two. The simple clothes he wore struck some sort of familiarity with Farah, though he was sure that Eric, or Magnus, had those emblems on either of their clothing.

"Clothing isn't an issue here." the man cracked his neck - and, reaching with his other hand, tore his shirt off.

"...this is impossible." Ultramagnus threw Farah away. Farah rolled to a stop and quickly leapt to her feet as Ultramagnus began to move away from her. "...that's just odd. You shouldn't be able to steal control of such a powerful Trance so quickly... but I can understand how the rules are being bent... in all directions. What shall I call you, Fusion Trance?"

"We are Tyrant," he responded firmly. "...the best... and worst of two worlds."

"Humor me." Ultramagnus shot back.

"It's quite simple, really..." Tyrant shuffled his feet. "...we have the ferocity of the Magnusi race, and the motivation to defeat you, beat the shit out of you, tear off your limbs, rip out your heart, destroy your senses, crush your will and destroy you completely."

Ultramagnus grimaced. "How charming."

There was a brief pause before they launched at each other. Their elbows locked together as they both attempted to hit each other, resulting in an arm-wrestle for supremacy. Both Ultramagnus and Tyrant wavered as they both tried to fight each other off.

"Maybe I should get involved in this Trance-thingy sometime." Ultramagnus grunted.

"It would be great," Tyrant droned. "...even better if you were alive to enjoy it." he raised up his other hand, slamming it into Ultramagnus' face. With a deafening crackle, a surge of Ki detonated in his face, sending him flying back. He pressed off the reactor closest to him, beginning a run back towards the Fusion. They both stood off each other once again as Ultramagnus wound up and delivered a haymaker at Tyrant, which was evaded and countered, which also was dodged. Soon, the trademark blur that accompanied the most indulgent Ki fighters enveloped the two as they attacked, parried and counter-parried their opponents limbs.

"Heh... well..." Ultramagnus growled. "You're more entertaining than all of those other buffoons combined, I'll give you that much." he suddenly reached out, catching a fist as it sped at him. Focusing, he sent a charge of energy through, stunning Tyrant long enough for Ultramagnus to throw his captive fist back at its owner's face with enough force to wipe Tyrant off his feet. He hit the ground, reeling back and forward again as he launched into the air and giving Ultramagnus his umpteenth face-bound kick of the night.

"Neutron Star!!" Tyrant swung his arm back and forward again as a wrecking-ball sized sphere of fire spouted from his hand, which soon became another face hit as it detonated with a thunderous explosion, shoving everything in the room that wasn't bolted down back - even the reactors themselves - while Ultramagnus' shrapnelled body finally hit a bare wall at hypersonic velocity. Tyrant followed.

Farah only watched dumbfounded - not noticing Vegeta begin to slowly stumble to his feet.

"...wha-what... is going on-n?!" Vegeta bellowed.

Farah glanced between the gaping hole in the wall and the partially-revitalized Vegeta, and back again. "...he.. Eric, Magnus... they're..."

"..is that a Fusion Trance..." Vegeta checked his surroundings. Nothing was in its proper place after the sudden Neutron attack - needless to say some things were knocked farther than others, but the room had certainly been shuffled. "..he needs help."

"...it's too dangerous t-"

"That bastard.. needs to be put.. away.. FOR GOOD!!!" Vegeta threw his head back, letting out a primal scream as he expelled his rage in one massive burst - his hair turned white, dulling out into a yellow as the air around him was unsettled. "...I have the tools... I have the oppritunity.. and now I have the opening!!" he hovered into the air, his aura widening greatly as he leapt into the air, rocketing into the unknown that lied beyond the damaged wall.


********


Omnimanium felt the pain surface. It threatened to eat him alive - but he had to stand. He had things to finish. Everyone stood, watching solemnly as Millenial's massive frame disappeared before their eyes, its host letting out a long croak as the essence began to leave its body, leaving Antimagnus' battered body behind.

"...so..." Charmy watched, still trying desperately to resist blinking. "...is this..."

"...this is too convienient to be the end..." Shaun checked around him. "...I am getting a REALLY bad feeling about this..."

"I think I would." Omnimanium continued to stare at Antimagnus' unconscious body. "...anyone else getting a high power level off of him?..."

"...6 billion. Roughly your strength, give or take a couple thousand." Keele fixed his spectacles. "...I don't know, but I would suspect he's out like a ligh-"

"..." Shaun pivoted slowly. "...Keele? Is something wrong?..."

"..t-that's odd..." Keele blinked. "...keep an eye on his power level..."

"It's falling..." Omnimanium murmured.

"...he's not dead, is he?" Charmy asked.

"He's still breathing..." Melanie whispered.

"4 billion." Keele called out.

"...no, it's two, I'm sure of it." Shaun mumbled.

Omnimanium buried his head in his hands. "...well, this is it."

"This is what?"

"...this is where you either get off... or ride to the end of the line."

"...what the hell is THAT supposed to mean?!" Shaun growled.

"The Sixth Magnusi is having his energy drained by whatever Trance is drawing off of the Magnusi line. Stalemate. The Sixth Magnusi is defeated... and in our palms. All that remains... is the Magnusi Prime."

"Alright..." Melanie rubbed her hands together. "So just the Magnusi Prime left. One last target. So we've pretty much won, right?"

Omnimanium turned away, shrugging. "...no, actually, we've pretty much lost."

There was a nova-white flash. Keele, Shaun, Charmy and Melanie all covered their eyes as the light intensified, the epicentre emitting a high-pitched squeal. As quickly as the flare had come, it was gone. The room was exactly as it was before - minus Antimagnus. One by one, the doors leading out of the corridor let out loud beeps.

"We're being locked in!!" Shaun shouted.

"Happy happy funtime." Max still lied underneath the tank, drumming the floor with his fingers.

Omnimanium stood still, the locks clapping shut a crescendo to the last door, directly behind them - the heavy metal doors slammed shut with an enormous crash, while another metal layer clicked shut immediately in front of it.


A door opened.

In midair.


Everyone gave each other one last lookover before following Omnimanium into the portal.


********


"Well, looks like somebody dropped by for tea," Raul sighed. He rubbed his hands together, glancing over both Falco and Tails, both extremely battered and extremely impatient. "...I was thinking you'd be walking into more trouble, but it seems that I have found you before then."

"The honor is ours." Tails said flatly.

Falco ran his arm over his face. "...what's our status..."

"Oh, we're done." Raul commented. "Most of the crew is already on their way back to the Argetlahm."

Falco nodded, and began to nod off, but quickly did a double-take. "..w-what?! Antimagnus.. is already beat?!"

Raul checked over his shoulder. Takeru still sat against the wall, arms folded, and giving Raul an impatient glare. Raul slowly turned back to his small audience. "...yes, Antimagnus is quite dead in the water. You won't have to be worrying about Millenial anytime soon."

Falco whistled, wiping his brow. "...well, whew, that's great news! It looks like this whole thing was a success, then?"

Raul smirked. "Not at all."

"...I'm lost."

"There's still business that needs to be done. Argetlahm alone cannot handle it. The ruler of the Magnusi is about to make one of his first appearances in the mortal realm for millenia. Those who remain, remain at the epicentre of his ascent."

"Bad?" Tails sighed.

"Bad." Takeru nodded.

"What are we supposed to do, though?" Falco asked.

"You COULD go there yourself... it is a 10-minute transit... but I strongly advise against it, and let me advise you this, as well - don't go in thinking you're going to save the world. You are going to die, and you are going to die horribly. I, on the other hand, need a helping hand."

"Certain death?" Tails asked.

"Certain death." Takeru replied.

"...this is Ultimanium's battle, isn't it... well, I guess I can't argue with that.." Falco cleared his throat. "...so, what did you want US to do?"

"...listen closely." Raul faced a massive window on the opposite side of the hall. "Cross-referencing the Magnusi Prime with everything that Narrin Aldur and his associates have mentioned about the prophecy have, oddly enough, worried me. It would be useless for any other than those involved the most directly in the war of the Magnusi to stand against the Magnusi Prime. Any entity that can contain the Magnusi and command them as his own can only possess frightening power... so far, the only applicable theory relating to his actual power has been the assumption that he resides in a higher dimension."

"...yeah..." Falco eyed Raul. "...and?"

"Once again, the only possible edge... or feasible effort... we can pit against the Magnusi is the power of the dimensionsplitter."

Takeru was already up, shoving the J3 around the corner. "Here you go."

"You have the J3 here?" Tails gasped. "But how can you have it here, now? I thought you said the crew was on their way back to the ship, and if that were true they'd need an antidimensional field..."

"They are on the Argetlahm. Trust me." Raul lifted an eyebrow. "As for now... we have the J3 here, if need be."

"...what's THAT supposed to mean?" Falco muttered.

"Did I not make myself clear?" Raul gave Falco an appropriately piercing glare. "Even I have no control over these events, let alone any applicable knowledge. These are new and troubled times. I have already drained the Argetlahm's batteries to power up the J3 to 800% capacity. If we need to make a dimensionjump... it is going to need to be massive... that is the only feeling I have about this entire situation, and I assure you, it is purely a gut reaction."

"Whew, well THAT'S reassuring." Falco whined. "So what are WE supposed to do?"

"Guard the J3 with Tails and Takeru." Raul threw his cape over his shoulders. "You will be the ones to initiate a dimensionsplit, as well as the first ones to access it. It is imperative that you cover this possible action. I will not be here during this time... being one of the original Argetlahm members... it is imperative that I assist Ultimanium and the others at the moment."

"Yeah." Tails rested against the wall. "...have fun."

All three watched as Raul touched his blade to his forehead. He nodded in the group's general direction, before disappearing in a flash of blue light.


********


Another transfer duct awaited. The chasm spread off infinitely, both deep and wide. Ultramagnus had little else to do but to test that theory. He plummeted downwards, diving like a bullet from the hole he had created in the wall. He tried his hardest to look up - as he had expected, the Tyrant was headed downwards at least twice as fast.

"I.. don't... fall." Ultramagnus screeched to a halt in the air. He yelled as he flipped back upwards, throwing his arm out - as he perfectly anticipated, Tyrant roared ahead, clotheslined at high velocity by the sudden gesture. Ultramagnus spun 180 degrees with Tyrant still perched on his arm, smashing him down against the barricade again with a vicious chop. He finally sheathed his arm, using its hand to deliver a haymaker to the back of Tyrant's head, forcibly resuming his descent. Ultramagnus watched, breathing heavily as he watched Tyrant's body regain its movement - though it would be only a minor delay until he returned to the fray. "...well.. now I can say.. I am truly ready this time."

"Still not enough." Vegeta roared down from the heavens, delivering his own haymaker to Ultramagnus' exposed skull. While the blow still never moved him, it did exhibit enough pain to stop him cold for a moment while Vegeta reached for his throat, still pounding him in the face with his other fist the entire while.

"I'm.. not.. stupid.. EITHER!!" Ultramagnus' hands leapt to Vegeta's throat, threatening to crush it within seconds. Vegeta's assault hit a brick wall as his face turned pale. "...you just.. never.. learn your lesson! No surprise attack... is beneficial to someone as weak as YOU!!"

Ding.

Ultramagnus' face remained motionless for a moment. Vegeta gained the strength to look down at Ultramagnus once more. He watched painfully as his captor's face slowly began to twist out of proportion. One of his eyes bugged out. Last, but not least, his grip began to loosen on Vegeta's windpipe.

"It can help..." Tyrant sighed. "...with a combination of any number of other dirty tricks."

Tyrant's foot rested nestled firmly in Ultramagnus' groin.

"Oi." Ultramagnus squeaked. Vegeta's fist flew into his face, throwing him away as a jet of blood streamed into the air. Vegeta finally fell from Ultramagnus' grasp, quickly beginning to lower as he hacked and gasped, air filling his lungs. Ultramagnus took a deep breath as he suddenly lunged toward Vegeta, but was halted in place as Vegeta suddenly reached forward and detonated a Ki charge directly into his chest. Ultramagnus lashed back, striking Vegeta across the face - as Vegeta fell back, he turned quickly, delivering a roundhouse kick directly into Ultramagnus' face.

Vegeta quickly righted himself as Ultramagnus came at him once more. Vegeta summoned all his power again, crossing his arms to block another thrust aimed at his chest. He disengaged, suddenly thrusting both his hands forward to catch both of Ultramagnus' fists as they soared at him.

"You!..." Ultramagnus twisted, barely escaping Vegeta's grip.

"Getting a bit winded? I agree... a cheap shot like that could hurt," Vegeta smirked. "It would be even more harmful if there were anything down there."

"RRGGAHH!!" Ultramagnus lunged at Vegeta, his fists clasped together as a bright sphere of energy coated them. He performed a home-run swing to Vegeta's head, Vegeta being able to narrowly avoid the attack. The field of energy nicked Vegeta's face, knocking him off-balance. Ultramagnus let out a scream as he swung his fists farther than ever, smashing Vegeta in the torso. Vegeta once again felt his wind leave him - this time with the added sensation of one of his ribs collapsing under the heavy blow. Vegeta began to lower out of the air as his shaky hand grasped his side.

"I.. AM GETTING SERIOUS!!!" Ultramagnus seized Vegeta by the throat once more, swinging up his other arm as he began to pound Vegeta in the face, blow by blow. Vegeta squeaked as his mouth let out a dribble of blood, the rapid blows quickly beginning to worsen his state. Finally, Ultramagnus yelled as he raised Vegeta with the single hand and hurled him down the shaft as hard as he could. With both his hands free, he raised them above his head, gathering a great ball of energy. "RENZOKAMEHAMEH-"

Ultramagnus paused again. "...a."

Tyrant floated away from Ultramagnus, glancing at his hand. "...Magnus knows you quite well. Well, that's quite probable, you two are quite the same. Fiercely defendant... and in the right cases blinded by pride."

Ultramagnus began to pale as he slowly drifted on the air. His eyes rolled down. He knew what he saw. But he didn't have the resources left in his body for his mind to comprehend it. A giant, basketball-sized hole had been drilled right through his torso, with the appropriate amount of body fluid draining through it. He couldn't be bothered to locate what remained of his internal organs that had left him.

"...ou..."

Vegeta watched as Ultramagnus began to descend with him. "...as was I. Well, you know what they say... two wrongs don't make a right."

"....YOUUUUUUU!!" Ultramagnus flared up once more, speeding his freefall as he plummeted towards Vegeta, condensing his remaining power upon his fist.

"You've learned... as have I." Vegeta raised both his hands. "...now who is the Saiyan.. IN CHARGE!!" his fists clenched as bright white energy surrounded them. His face rapidly tensed as power began to gather in his hands, Ultramagnus approaching every other second.

"YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!!!"

"SPIRIT SURGE!!" Vegeta opened his hands, flying downwards as a gigantic beam of solid light erupted from his open palms. The attack flooded around Ultramagnus, striking him head-on. Vegeta continued to fuel the beam, letting out a scream as he forced every last ounce of energy he had remaining into the massive shaft of energy.

"...so that's how it is, then." Ultramagnus sighed as the energy surrounded him, burning away at his essence. "...I'm... simply flesh and bone. That's how it is. I am just a Magnusi. Perhaps this was truly meant to happen. But if so... then you are all doomed at the hands of the Magnusi itself."

With a cataclysmic explosion, Ultramagnus was removed from the world.

And Vegeta, Eric, and Magnus were finished their ultimate battle more confused than they had ever been before.


********






Ultimanium , Charmy, Shaun, Max, Keele and Melanie all walked through the room. Whatever the room was, they didn't have much of an idea. Wherever Sherheim had lead them, it was quite boring. The air was winter white. As was everything else around them. The group was standing in the middle of a void.

Charmy rubbed her hands up her arms. "...it's cold."

Ultimanium slowed his walk. The group acted accordingly.

"Mr. Magnusi Prime seems to have mastered modern art," Max muttered. "...but I wouldn't mind just getting this over with."

"I would." Shaun shot back.

"You think the Magnusi Prime would have more to keep himself occupied with," Keele sighed. "...is there a washroom around here?"

Ultimanium glanced to his side. Another door opened in the air, with a man symbol on it. Keele slowly stepped over, sticking his head through. A line of urinals stretched off into the horizon. "...whoa."

"...be careful you don't stick your head through too many doors," Ultimanium glanced back into the infinite. "...he still may find reason to trap us in a very undesirable place."

"...I guess you have a point there..." Keele stepped back from the floating washroom, watching as the door folded in on itself and disappeared into thin air. "...I guess I should be a little more careful around these parts."

"If I had somewhere to sit down... that couldn't be helped," Melanie mumbled. "My feet are killing me."

"Why didn't you say so?"






Everyone turned around. Directly behind them, where they had once treaded through, was an old television, a Victorian sofa, a tiny endtable, and another recliner next to it - in which Sherheim sat, legs folded, hands interlaced.

Sherheim continued to stare a hole through Ultimanium. "...please, have a seat." a faint grin appeared on his face as he gestured towards the sofa. Ultimanium turned to both sides, getting shrugs of confusion from each person. He moved forward, seating himself. Charmy and Shaun sat on his sides, while the remainder stood behind the couch.

"...oh, I wasn't aware I had this much company." Sherheim glanced over, and other eyes followed. Where the group had just moved from was another sofa, an exact replica of the one that was already being used. Dumbfounded, Max, Keele and Melanie sat down upon the couch. "...can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?"

There was dead silence. Ultimanium slowly lifted his arm. "Coffee for me."

Sherheim nodded. He reached over, fetching a coffee pot off the previously-empty endtable, and poured the brew into a small mug. He handed it to Ultimanium. "Well, the least the rest of you could be as neighborly as our friend here."

"No thanks." Shaun mumbled.

"Well... that's too bad. Now, what are we all doing here... ah, yes, it seems that idiot Antimagnus got what was coming to him, hm? I couldn'tve seen much different.. he was so tied up in reliving his last fight he wasn't very careful about dealing with your vastly upgraded forms. It seems Ultramagnus was shown the door again, as well."

"Ultramagnus?!" Charmy yelped.

"I simply resurrected him. I figured some of the others needed a challenge. Unfortunately... Ultramagnus followed the exact same path... trying to find his lost legacy... and he is dying as well. I have half a mind to bring him back from the void once again and inflicting eternal pain upon him for his blindedness."

"...you.. resurrected a Magnusi." Keele murmured.

"Yes. Yes I did. Being the Magnusi Prime I am entitled to such.. priveledges. In any case, I'm afraid I must congratulate you on a job well done, regardless on how moronic Ultramagnus and Antimagnus were to start with. You must be quite powerful to get through the Magnusi and conquer the Van Eltia unscathed. Please, stay a while. I can make this time worth it."

"You aren't going to subject US to 'eternal pain'?" Max air quoted.

"It's a lost cause. You're not worth my time, because you can't harm me to begin with. If I seriously wanted to pit you in such a meaningless battle, I would have to assume some kind of physical form... and enter some lower dimension."

"We're in the eigth dimension." Ultimanium took another long sip from his coffee.

"Quite observant. The eight dimension - dimension." Sherheim spread his arms. "From here I possess the innate ability to alter any state of motion, matter and energy within the lower seven dimensions. As it stands you are all immune to the full extent of my power... although I can close this sector of eigth dimensional space and boot you back to the Van Eltia."

Shaun leant forward. "Provided you aren't going to kill us off the bat... I have questions."

"As do I." Raul appeared behind the couch.

Sherheim seemed to brighten considerably. "...oh, Zeddicus Zu'l Rahl! How nice of you to join us... coffee?" Sherheim held up the coffee pot.

"Don't mind if I do." he held out his own mug, which caused Sherheim to smirk. Sherheim quickly poured the coffee and placed the pot back on the table.

"...anyways... where were we?" Sherheim paused. "...oh, yes. You had... questions."

Shaun twiddled his thumbs. "If it wouldn't bother you too much.. I would like to know the entire history behind the Magnusi, the Magnusi Prime, the dimensionsplitters, and the Zeal. If the prophecy that I keep hearing about relates back to the Zeal in some manner, you should be able to recall something." he glanced to Ultimanium, who nodded.

Charmy twitched. "Why are you so comfortable in telling us these things?"

"Because," Sherheim shrugged. "There is nothing you can do with this knowledge."

"..ah." Charmy fell back on the couch, cutting her own interrogation short.

"...anyways, I assume you have some working knowledge of the Zeal and this prophecy they made, about the reawakening of the dimensionsplitter and the war of the Magnusi that would follow?"

"Yes." Ultimanium said.









"You should be aware that the Zeal, in its time, was an extremely advanced race - well, extremely advanced for 52 billion B.C. Isn't that a treat... I possess knowledge that no living thing, rock, scripture or atom OR molecule in Creation can comprehend. This is because of the Zeal - the first race. The Zeal were a group of intellectual elite, and physical behemoths - great creatures with four arms... a genius DNA combination of compound eyes and wide peripheral vision... I believe 340 degrees. And vast minds... always itching for the beyond and what lied within it... unchallenged by any force in the galaxy... if there had been one. You could say the galaxy had a dominating force many, many Mondays before the establishment of your Good Book."

Ultimanium frowned. "So religion..."

"...has no place in the grand scheme of the universe. But who needs religion? You regard the Zeal as an ancient civilization... but the Zeal created Creation. They were creators, always creators, and looking to the future, and what creations would make themselves known then. To this extent, there is no history beyond that point in the cosmos - I'm afraid there is no indication whatsoever where the Zeal themselves came from."

"...the Zeal are the Gods."

"The Zeal were becoming greatly tired of even their omnipotence. They desired... well, non-Zealness around them. As any God figure would. They needed a good place to start creating the physical universe. Many millenia were spent researching, conducting tests, experimenting - trying to find the essence of a physical universe. After... after everything they had worked up towards... all their eternal lives... they found it. They looked further into it. And, a plan was set out. Eight task forces, with the eigth overseeing the operation, were created to construct individual tiers of a physical universe, much like the individual floors of a skyscraper. Many Zeal were put through the construction process and offered the physically perfect bodies mentioned earlier. Still, this was a problem for much of the Zeal spirit, that were not used to the physical limitations of such a universe. While the physical universe could be entered anywhere from the outside, moving between tiers would require another vast effort in quantum engineering."

"The dimensionsplitter was created." Ultimanium finished.

"Powerful coffee?" Sherheim responded.

"Very." Ultimanium sighed.

"The dimensionsplitter was a large advancement in understanding of the physical realm the Zeal had strived to create. The dimensionsplitters were produced in mass quantities and distributed throughout the eight dimensions. The usage of the crude prototype dimensionsplitters was so great, mass leaks of energy and matter created by the abundant jumps between dimensions contributed to the domino-effect theory behind the long-term integration of dimensions. Actions in a lower dimension will affect those above it. That should be common knowledge to you, of course."

Ultimanium nodded.

"...dimensionsplitting was such common practice that the Zeal actually adapted quite quickly to their physical forms. No longer were they confined to their cages that they worked in day by day, year by year, century by century. Some of the limiting effect of physical existance began to rub off as they Zeal moved between and flourished back in their old families and clans. The long-awaited dream of a full physical plane of reality was now fully endorsed by all Zeal. As a matter of fact, there were a select few that made the final decision to live out their full physical lives within Creation, at the expense of their spirit afterwards, which would return only to be processed by the exterior of Creation into a lesser form. Only in rare cases could an expired spirit navigate its way back to Creation to inhabit another physical form. Cases like these were governed strictly by a council of Zeal. In case it escapes your wee little minds, you've been told the secrets of the afterlife."

Melanie sweatdropped. "...ah."

"Regardless..." Sherheim cleared his throat. "The Zeal civilization carried on... a fair number settled within Creation, while the remainder settled outside... but... even a Zeal utopia such as the physical realm can stay peaceful for long. Several billion years after the creation and implementation of the physical world, an unruly group of Zeal managing the first dimension... began to rally, forming a coalition against their superiors. They were committed to moving what physical population existed of the Zeal to the highest dimension... there, they insisted, lied true power within the physical realm, and for the most part, they were right. Higher-dimensional Zeal figures had the capability of editing the lower dimensions on a whim, save for other Zeal that occupied those realms. This group of ruffians... so to speak... identified themselves as the Unity."

Charmy was taking a long sip from Ultimanium's coffee, before promptly spewing it on her neighbor's lap. "The Unity?!"

"Isn't that the cult that Balkan runs?" Shaun interjected.

"In the end the Unity was a council of eight - seven subordinates and a high priest. Several decades after the Unity had begun its controversial attack on the workings of the Eight Dimensions, they were captured and put to death. Their spirits were returned to Outer Creation to be administered their service to the Zeal civilization... but it was soon realized they were still at full power, and possessed the power necessary to return to the physical world if they so pleased. Obviously the highest Zeal would not allow this... the Unity had already caused much damage to the physical realm during their brief guerilla war. If they were to be contained, they would have to be bound within physical form and isolated within a 'buffer' dimension, one that was hastily created between the fifth and sixth dimensions. Other dimensions realized the potential hazard in their physical lives, and constructed rugged 'prison' dimensions of their own - one between each of the primary zones of habitation."

"The Digital Worlds," Raul whispered. "...fascinating..."

Sherheim smirked, glancing over the group. "Once the Zeal realized the potential danger in jumping across those tiers, they soon began to bear the fact that they were slowly becoming trapped again within their own Creation. Dedicating the physical realm they had created a buffer zone for the prison dimensions, the Zeal crafted the most powerful dimensionsplitters, capable of breaking back out of Creation and opening the way back to the void they once knew. The Zeal retreated far from the physical realm they had crafted... not before spreading a seed of life within it. A fairly competent genetic sample was manifested within the eight dimensions, partially because of a desire of balance within the otherwise empty planes of existance and partially to justify its very meaning.

"The eight still remained... seven warriors and one high priest. The Zeal called them... the Magnusi. Seven warriors... and one Magnusi Prime. And that fool Sherheim just happened to be the one blind enough to construct another dimensionsplitter from what remained of the Zeal's legacy. He has made a pact with me... a deal with the devil, you may say... a bid for absolute power. Quite fitting of his corporate status, I might add. I am the Magnusi Prime... but also with the motive, knowledge and filth of Sherheim. The Magnusi, their mortal shells long dead, were released out into the dimensions once more to find a suitable host... they found that host in the line of Magnus. The Super Saiyan race."

"It's all so clear now..." Keele hummed.

"How do you explain Magnus then?" Ultimanium asked.

"That fool... is the stupidest of all. What redemption he seeks for the atrocities he himself committed eons ago.. it is madness. He will not be forgiven... by the Zeal OR the Magnusi."

"Magnus is the physical incarnation of one of the Zeal..." Ultimanium bowed his head. "...who would've thought..."

"Reduced to a puppet. My puppet," Sherheim turned. "A rather disobedient one, but a puppet nonetheless."

"...I know all I need to now." Ultimanium straightened himself.

"That's fine and dandy," Sherheim cast his hand out. "Now leave. Begone from this place."

Shaun stood up. "What? You just want us to... go away?"

"Let's put it this way," Sherheim folded his arms. "I am a VERY forgiving person, to the right people. You have yet to do me any wrong. Leave and you will be spared. You will find that the new world I create under the banner of the Magnusi... will be much better than this.. disgrace."

"We will not be your minions." Keele growled through his teeth.

"Does the term 'bystander' sound any more appealing?" Sherheim waved the group off. "I've wasted enough time with all of you. Need I repeat myself?"

"Why not? You've been boasting yourself for the past ten minutes anyways." the entire group turned. Walking up behind them was Narrin, dressed in the casual jumpsuits provided for most of the other crew of the Van Eltia. "Greetings, 'Sherheim', if that's what you like to be called. I have waited many long millenia for this... but I must state my claim now. This is where we make our stand."

"I won't allow you to go spouting your boisterous plans any longer," Ryo called out. "Meance.. no longer will you unsettle the dreams of my ancestors. We will put a stop to your schemes, Magnusi Prime!"

"Narrin?! Ryo?!" Keele cried.

"What the hell is this?" Sherheim grunted. "I don't RECALL inviting you two. Get the hell out of my space... before I give you a gentle SHOVE!"

"I think you're going to be the one shoved around." Ryo shot back.

"I seriously do not like where this is going..." Melanie hunched down.

"This is fucking STUPID!!" Sherheim roared. Everyone save for Ryo and Narrin lost their footing as what seemed to be the dimension itself shuddered under the command of the Magnusi Prime. "Do you think you can just waltz in here and think of ousting me, no questions asked? Any of you?! I am the eight-diemnsional Magnusi Prime - no human, let alone mortal hand will ever dream in its eternal cycle of assaulting me and existing to see the result!!"

"We've been thinking of assaulting you for a long, long time now..." Ultimanium stood. "...we just didn't have the right target to take our frustration out on."

"Are you CRAZY?!" Max hit the ground, covering his head.

"I've told you once... AND I'VE TOLD YOU AGAIN!! I HAVE NO TIME TO DEAL WITH INFIDELS SUCH AS YOURSELF!!"

"Yeah... that's what the Magnusi are for!" Shaun yelled. "To do your fucking laundry!!"

"The Magnusi will CERTAINLY clean you, you STAIN, off the EPOCHS!!" Sherheim hunched over, his breathing rapidly increasing in speed. "You want NONE of what the physical force of the Magnusi Prime has to offer!!"

Ultimanium shrugged. "We're probably all dead anyways."




There was an eerie silence as everyone exchanged hesitant glances. Sherheim still threatened to glare a hole in anyone looking his way. Which everyone was in the end, of course.




"You've defeated one Magnusi. Two. Three. But, no, you, you ARGETLAHM, deserve the royal treatment." Sherheim took a deep breath, nearly instantly beginning to cool down. His face returned to its normal, his breathing quickly slowing back to its normal rate. "...tell me, you all actually have rather high power levels for the third dimension that you previously resided in. You should be able to handle any physical force, correct?"

Charmy sweatdropped. "..well... uh..."

Sherheim laughed. "You certainly must be, if you are so intent on challenging me personally. Well, you seem to be asking for it... you certainly want to fight the ULTIMATE physical force?"

Ultimanium thrust out his hand, followed by a lone finger. "...and then... you. You son of a bitch."

Sherheim shrugged. "...well, whatever you say."




Unimagnus.
Bolomagnus.
Tromagnus.
Ultramagnus.
Antimagnus.
Millenial.




Shaun trembled, the Mega Launcher clattering against the ground. The clash it made was a crescendo to everything that had happened up to this point. The hammer had fallen.

"GO, MY MINIONS!!" Sherheim cast his hands out. "YOU HAVE WAITED BEYOND HISTORY TO SECURE YOUR PLACE IN THE COSMOS... AND THE FINAL BATTLE HAS ARISEN!! ARGETLAHM... WILL.. BE... CRUSHED!!!"



********



TO BE CONCLUDED (I mean it, really ^_^')