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 1 ( Chapter 17 )

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

(A/N - Ultimatum 3: Trance Trauma is beginning to draw to a close... get yer popcorn! The fun's only just started. XD )












TRANCE TRAUMA SPECIAL

The Last Jump
Part 1



















"We're just about done up here," the commander sighed. "We've sustained major damage, but we've driven most of the Einhanders off. The Smash ships have mostly taken matters into their own hands. The general consensus up here is that we move Cornerian and Magnopolitian cruisers closer to the Van Eltia for a direct attack."

Fox's Arwing, freeing itself from the action, hovered up alongside the starboard of the nearest Cornerian cruiser. Down below the skirmish was still going strong, but nowhere near as chaotic as it had been half an hour ago. "I still don't think it's time. The turrets would tear us up. I think this is more in the hands of the insertion forces now."

The Echelon parked itself alongside the small fighter, dwarfing it nearly ten-to-one. "We'll just have to insert, then!" Magnus' voice barked. "Hey, you guys are part of Argetlahm, you should be down there with them if you have nothing else to do up here! The insertion crews are in like you said, and they have several hangars cleared on each side for further insertion!"

"I'm up for that," Falco chuckled. "My flight stick hand's getting tired. I could use a full-body workout. Peppy, you hearin' this?"

"Right with you," Peppy responded. "Echelon, would you be so kind as to give us an escort?"

"We can draw fire for a little bit, I guess," the partner cadet replied. "The closest hangars are on the bow of the Van Eltia. We'll head in first, just try to keep up." both Cornerian pilots watched as the bulky Echelon pulled ahead, rapidly speeding up. The Arwings pursued, as well as several Smash ships.





********





T eisel turned a corner, running in a full-out windsprint. Any slower and he would have been trampled by the ravenous crowd of mercenaries around him. The quiet, pulsating hallways faded out into muddled yells and warcries, which eventually lead into a large courtyard where Grapplers were already positioned behind barricades.

"On my mark!!" A goggled, messily uniformed Grappler yelled. From behind sandbags, benches, park tables, trees, pillars, and any other available shield nearby, soldiers raised energy rifles. "FIRE!!" the yells of the crowd was quickly overshadowed as blasts of plasma covered everyone's vision. Their opponents quickly raised their shields, energy fields, magic barriers or dove behind the pillars on their own side to defend themselves. It was mere seconds later that the Smashers let loose with their own projectiles. Soon, the entire vast courtyard had degenerated into an epic shootout. In the middle, what few melee fighters there were duked it out. Swords, energy blades, blunt weapons, and even chairs from nearby were being smashed over peoples' heads.

Samus rose over a table, firing a charged-up blast across the room. The energy shot was easily noticed and dodged accordingly, causing it to smash instead into a pillar, blasting it into two several pieces and sending the top half down on the floor in no man's land. The close-range fighters scattered accordingly.

"How the hell are we supposed to gain any ground like this?!" Takeru yelled. He smashed an armored soldier away with his blade, quickly diving to the ground as a blast of energy arced down into the ground nearby, blasting the polished floor to pieces and uprooting a nearby tree.

Elsewhere, Takato leapt out of a tree, bashing a guard over the head with the Ragnarok. Guilmon quickly shovel-throwed the unconscious body to the side as a pair of swordsmen backed through, parrying each others' blows. Minonim hovered out of nowhere, a small slot lower on the probe opening up and ejecting a small rod. The object tapped into the Grappler's leg, sending out a fair-sized shock. The man hopped up, checking his leg, giving his opponent enough time to slash his opposite arm off. Minonim hovered off at an odd zig-zag path across the battlefield, shouting illegible warcries and dodging energy blasts coming from every visible direction.

"Fall back!!" one of the rear Grapplers yelled. Almost instantly the wall of armored soldiers began to scroll backwards, flooding into various exits as cover fire was laid down.

"They're heading to the commons!!" Reid yelled. "We have to head them off!!"

"We've got people attacking from every direction!!" Glenn yelled back. "Easy pickings!!"

As the defenders scattered, two larger battalions of soldiers came out of side entrances, flanking the melee fighters.

"Or not!!" Reid screeched, him and Glenn diving to the ground as more fire flew by overhead. Glenn rolled across the ground to a table, sitting up and taking several shots at the rapidly advancing group. A stray Boom Bubble zoomed out of nowhere, sending one lone soldier flying back into his group and knocking several more down. Range fighters quickly fled in the confusion, attempting to outflank the Grapplers again - not an easy task in what was becoming an increasingly hazardous and cramped courtyard. Several armored Grapplers set themselves up on a balcony nearby, firing down from their height. Spinning behind a pillar to avoid counterfire, Cody leapt back out and hurled his katana spinning into the group, causing them to scatter. The weapon drove itself through the chest of one guard, throwing him back into the adjacent pillar. Crono sidestepped into the fray, holding back the rest of the group while he bent back and reclaimed the sword, throwing it into his other hand. Swinging both back, he yelled and charged into the group, very much a blur with both katanas. He broke out the other side, the guards removing the three disemboweled soldiers from the group and opening fire on him. Crono dove behind a flower plantation, flipping back onto his feet and running around the edge of the courtyard, still dodging blasts.

"This is getting out of hand," Samus murmured, examining the destroyed pillar. "We need to get through the Grapplers here before we back ourselves into a corner."

Serge ducked, shielding his head as another explosion tore up the planation behind him. "I sure hope the others aren't having this much trouble."


********


Kirby coughed, eventually falling back and wheezing as he struggled to drag of a fellow Smash registee out of the way. Teisel leapt over the obstacle, spinning and slamming a pipe wrench into the gut of another Grappler.

"Teisel!" Farah muttered, backing into him. "Where's all the Ki fighters? They should've mopped this mess up a long time ago!" she and Teisel gaped as the soldiers formed a tight ring around the two, advancing slowly inwards.

"OH, and THEY don't have Ki fighters as well?!" Teisel screeched. "GIVE YOUR HEAD A SHAKE!!"

Helmut smashed his fist backwards, sending a soldier back hard against a wall, nearly going through it. He began to advance through the melee, dodging everyone who drew a bead on him. "Hang on a second! I'm coming!! HANDEN!" Helmut threw his hand forward, the odd-sounding attack summoning a ball of Ki to his hand - a slim, bright beam of energy leapt forward, lancing through the crowd and causing it to scatter. One pirate turned the wrong way and lost his head. "Teisel! What's our plan?"

"Plan? PLAN?! Look around!! Does this look like much of a PLAN to you?!" a mercenary fell from a nearby balcony and landed next to Teisel with a painful thud.

"Most of the other people are either in the main courtyard or just raiding the halls," Farah sighed. "Everything leads to there sooner or later."

Raynor raised his rifle. "I'm up for a little raid. And we'll get to the courtyard sooner or later." he sneered.

"Anyone seen Dante?" Chat suddenly interrupted.


********


As reinforcements charged in formation down the hall through an intersection, the forces of Argetlahm charged in from the sides. Dante stepped forward, throwing Alastor into his right hand and making a rising sweep across the surprised caravan. Two people lost their limbs, and others were thrown back. Tails reached up, throwing a defender from a downed Grappler to Dante like a frisbee. Slippy backed in the way, still firing his blaster.

CLUNK

Tails sweatdropped. "...eh.. heh." bending down, Tails picked up another defender and threw it to Dante, this time sailing over the unconscious Slippy and landing on Dante's arm, automatically clamping itself on. Dante swung his arm back, stopping a stray sword with the shield, and immediately lashed back with his own weapon.

"WE'RE NOT DONE HERE!!" Locke yelled. He spun around, throwing his hunting knife down the empty hallway. It flew into a pirate's eye, causing his lifeless body to slump forwards onto the polished floor. Around him poured another battalion, quickly kneeling in succession and ready to deliver a salvo of blaster fire.

"MOVE!" Dante backed up as the remainder of the group dove to either side, flipping Ebony and Ivory into his hands and opening fire on the group. One gun clicked empty, and was in the process of being reloaded as the other continued firing. Blasts tore apart the hallway around Dante, and it was only after he heard the insect-like buzz of a deheading blaster shot less than an inch from his ear that he followed his company's example. Ducking, he dashed into the side hall.

Fox darted up, readying his blaster. As he hid behind a crate in the hall, Falco shoved forward one of his own. "Well, hello, boys, did we miss anything?"

"I think the statement isn't 'did we miss anything' but rather 'I hope we miss anything'." Falco ducked, dodging a bolt of energy. Dante picked up the immobile body of Slippy, throwing him completely over Fox's head. Locke dove, rolling behind Falco's arrangement of boxes as the remainder of the group returned fire.

"Why did you want crates so bad?!" Falco yelled over the squeal of blaster fire.

"Cover?" Fox shouted back.

"Even crates of explosives?!"

Pause.

Reflection.

Hit self.

"RUN!!" Fox screamed. Everybody did as they told, Fox and Falco suddenly rearing up and firing as they began to back away with the Grapplers in pursuit. Fox growled, firing a shot at the crate on the left. The boxed weapons proceeded to light up in a 4th-of-July manner, erupt in a massive shockwave, send soldiers flying every which way and collapse the celing all at once. Datalyte flooded out onto the floor as the hallways were dumped into a deep darkness, with the occasional red-alert light. A siren blared in the distance.

Dante raised his head from the ground. "...everybody alright there?"

"I'm okay," Tails drew a blaster of his own. "anybody else?"

"Ready to go," Fox muttered slapping another cartridge in his blaster.

"Don't throw rocks in houses made of glass," Falco sneered.

"Oh, shut up."

Tails stood up. "I don't know about you guys, but this is turning into a deadly game of laser tag."

Locke chuckled. "All they need to do is turn off the lights and turn this into a night operation."



The lights turned off.



"...who wants to shoot him first?" Falco growled.

"Anyone have a light?" Tails sighed.

Dante dug in the inside of his overcoat. "...not much." he took out a lighter, striking it. A small, marble-sized flame cast enough light to see three feet.

"Wouldn't it suck if the Grapplers had night vis-AAH!" Locke fell backwards as Falco's blaster was shoved between his eyes.

"Shut up." the rest chorused.




******




Charmy glanced to her side, watching as the various shops of the Van Eltia panned by. Signs inside the compounds of the commercial sector were typed in miniscule writing, and alien language at that. Getting a closer look was futile, even if she managed to break herself from Ultimanium's path many if not all of the stores were either locked tight behind heavy metal doors, destroyed by the Grapplers or still had laser gates sealing them off.

"We're getting closer," Ultimanium droned. "Antimagnus' ki signature just jumped a bit. He's probably in the left compartments... that narrows things down a bit. We're going to have to head down a few floors."

Charmy stepped up to the eight-way intersection. "It looks like someone was already through here. Or the Grapplers left one of their locks open. This looks like one of those like grind rails that Shaun talked about when he was aboard the Van Eltia."

"Maybe it WAS Shaun." Ultimanium glanced down the tunnel. "It's too steep to walk down, or even climb down, and too twisty to fly through. Save your energy, we'll take the easy way down." Ultimanium looked to his side, where a large crate was half-packed with lead pipes of various shapes and sizes. He flipped one into his own hand, and tossed another to Charmy.

Charmy looked to the rifle in her left hand, to the pipe in her right, and back again. "...what am I going to do with the gun?"

"Guns don't kill Magnusi," Ultimanium said. "Miracles kill Magnusi."

"Killjoy." Charmy dropped her rifle on a nearby counter, and hopped up to the rail as Ultimanium swung himself down. She leant forward, beginning to drag herself down the tunnel. Ultimanium quickly sped ahead, keeping barely in eyesight.

The interior of the rail tunnel was one long corkscrew, but led in an easy enough turn to allow for high speeds. The chase continued for a few minutes, until Charmy could see Ultimanium let go and slow himself to a halt in the air. Charmy followed suit. She watched the pipes continue to rocket down the rails before turning. "What's going on?"

"Down there." Ultimanium pointed to a small man-height opening in the wall.

He and Charmy hovered down, Charmy immediately sticking her head through the gap. "What's the deal?" through the door, there was a simple, short metal-clad hallway, with the occaisional steel door. There was a T-intersection at the far end, but there seemed to be nothing fancier beyond.

Ultimanium hopped through, slamming his feet down on the metal floor. "...these should be the bunks."

"Are you sure?"

"There should be nothing in this end of the ship but the commercial sector, endless automated engine rooms and a bunch of bunks. And the only one that could look like this..."

Charmy shrugged, leaning against the wall. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. And the couple of lower-tier power levels tipped you off."

"You're getting the hang of this." Ultimanium flipped his handgun into his hand. "This wing of the bunks is made up of most of the Grapplers sent to handle the insertion crews. It'll be the fastest way to Antimagnus, as long as we don't raise our power levels."



As he turned around, Ultimanium found a gun barrel lodged in his forehead.

"It'll be a faster way to Antimagnus as long as you don't raise your voice."

Charmy froze, her eyes wandering up the shadowy arm of the gunwielder. He was draped in heavy brown cloaks, as was the rest of the body. He was nearly Ultimanium's height, and his face was a mystery, one large shadow.

"Don't... raise... your... power level." Ultimanium moaned.

Charmy edged closer to Ultimanium, getting ready to flip the handgun out of his hands.

"I wouldn't try that, miss." the man choked. Charmy twitched, accidently knocking the gun out of Ultimanium's hand. She watched painfully as the weapon hit the ground with a loud clang.

"...Charmy, don't do anything. His power level is great. TOO great. And if I didn't know any better, I'd know that aura like the back of my hand."

"Indeed, you would." the man lowered his gun, flipping it back into its holster on his belt. "Ultimanium, it is a relief to see you intact."

"Yes, sensei."


Charmy grit her teeth. She glanced from Ultimanium over to the man. "...you're... what's the name..."

"There is no time to talk about this here." the man reached up, tossing back the robes over his head. Underneath was a totally different person - an older man, with large glasses, and a head full of grey-silver hair. He had a thick beard of the same color. Completely undoing his robes he let them sulk to the side. "Ultimanium, we cannot remain here. There are many maintenace shafts near this area that we can hide in from the time being - there are few Grapplers that know they even exist, and I can cloak our power levels to the point where even Antimagnus will not be able to trace them."

Ultimanium glanced back to Charmy. She nodded, reluctantly. "...alright, then. Lead the way." he leant up against the wall, letting the man slide by. Ultimanium and Charmy followed.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke again. Soon, the group was back at the same door that Ultimanium and Charmy had come through.

"I knew you'd come." Ultimanium said. "...Narrin."

"And I knew you would be here. This is the last Magnusi. However, before we follow through with our plan I must speak to you. There are things both you and I need to know, as well as Corneria, Eternia, and Argetlahm. Now, shall we get going?"

Charmy shrugged. "Lead the way."

"There is another door similar to this one several floors down," Narrin mumbled. "That is where the auxiliary maintenance shafts lie. It will be impossible to reach those chambers from any other approach."

Narrin leapt out into the open tunnel, flying down and turning into the darkness. Charmy gaped as she watched the old man disappear. "What the hell? He can't fly down there! He's going too fast..."

"This is Narrin we're talking about here," Ultimanium muttered. "The same Narrin that first taught me the art of Regen. He is the originator of Regen, and the ultimate master of it." he turned back to face Charmy. "If he does anything godly don't be too surprised." picking up his lead pipe, lying against the wall, he hopped back up onto the rail. "C'mon, we can't lose 'im."


********


Shaun stumbled back, dodging a soldier as he plummeted out of the air and landed face-down on the hard marble floor with a dead thud. "...I don't know about you guys, but I think we're missing the festivities."

Melanie stared in disbelief. Most of the vibrant courtyard where she had spent patrol shifts just days before was in shambles. Benches and tables were overturned, large patches of ground, both of the paneled and sodded varieties, were blown to pieces, pillars lied overturned, dead bodies were slumped over hastily-constructed barriers and sprawled on the ground, and it seemed the roof would collapse at any moment and simply destroy everything that had yet to be desecrated. Raising her hand before anyone else could talk, she turned back to Shaun and Max. "Argetlahm did THIS?!"

"What did you think Argetlahm was?"

"Your little superhero team."

Shaun tugged nervously at his collar. "Well, you could say that... and the Cornerian Armed Forces... and most of the Smash population of Mute City..."

Pause.

"I think we have something more along the lines of a WAR occuring than a simple self-insertion assault GOING ON HERE!!" Melanie kicked another body aside, muttering to herself as she stumbled off through the wastes. "WELL? Are you guys coming or not?"

Shaun followed. He stopped, turning back. Max was still staring at the wasteland that Shaun's companions had helped to create. "...well? You coming?"

Max slowly turned to Shaun. "Wait until Chat sees this."

Both sweatdropped. Shaking the image of fire-spewing demonic Chat out of their heads, the began to step through the ruins, both drawing their hand cannons. They followed Melanie into the nearest tunnel leading out of the great chamber. It was no later after Max set both feet inside the closed hallway that the entire celing of the roof behind them came down in a loud rumble and an earth-shaking crash. Both Shaun and Melanie hit the ground as the lights of the datalyte-walls flickered and the tunnel was rushed by a storm of dirt.

They waited. Behind them, Max coughed out a mouthful of debris, and shook off his three-inch blanket of dust. "...yeah."


********


Elsewhere, the two Argetlahm groups, riding the near-tsunami of Smashers, joined at the side of the first pillar. The group came out into a larger chamber, a large waiting room. Various monitors displayed different areas of the Van Eltia, while large compartments on each side held a smorgasboard of in-ship transit vehicles of various shapes and sizes. Off in the distance, the main entrance of the Hall of Aifried could be made out.

"T-t-they're r-running-g a-a-away." Scias spat.

"They just don't run away because they FEEL like it!" Glenn roared. "They're taking it to the rear pillar! They'll get a constant stream of reinforcements there! What's our status?"

"Few casaulties, but many injuries, I'm afraid," Minonim beeped. "Nothing lethal, mind you, but we can't send them into battle like this."

"How are they getting across?!" Takato yelled.

"There's only one way across, and that's through the Hall of Aifried. It's the main shaft connecting the two main pillars!" Reid pointed towards the giant tunnel ahead. "There's smaller maintenace shafts winding around the Hall, but it would be suicide to go through them!"

"Oh, the irony." Raynor growled. Clasping both his fists, he slammed them through the window of the parking area, reaching around and fumbling with the keylock. After several failed attempts, he smashed that as well, and after more cursing he eventually wound up knocking down the door. Meanwhile, virtually everyone else was doing the same thing to the parking area opposite it.

The legion of Grapplers heading the other way, vehicles and otherwise, was slowly moving further and further away. "HURRY UP!!" Cody yelled.

Takato fumbled with his cards, eventually finding a blank one. Quickly folding it, he jammed it in the ignition slot of a hoverbike and started twisting it around. People hopped away at the sudden roar of the bike's engine, and Takato himself was shocked to be suddenly lifed two feet into the air by the vehicle. Quickly clambering ontop of it, he seated himself to the front and gripped the handlebars. Guilmon climbed onto the back, causing the rear to dip slightly. "How does this thing work?"

"I hope you can ride a motorcycle," Reid grumbled, hovering up on his own bike. "'cause that's the sort of ride you're in for."

Takato revved the engine. "Piece of cake." Behind him, at least another three dozen hoverbikes and other vehicles, including a few armored APCs, and even a large hovertank, filed into formation. The Winged Victory rolled forward on treads, setting itself up beside the group. The treads folded in as the vehicle reverted to its F-Zero racing form.

"Let's get moving!" Vegeta stood on top of one of the APCs, bracing himself for the sudden jump in speed. The jets on the back of Samus' suit folded upwards, putting it in alignment with the engines of her bike. On the back, Kirby held on for dear life. Fox sat alone on a bike, as did Falco. Their bikes pulled to the front of the group.

"YAAAHHH!!" Fox pulled his bike into a wheelie, and roared down the Hall of Aifried. As did everyone else. Within seconds the formation disintegrated into a military-vehicle rush-hour - on a four lane connector shaft. Not that anyone paid attention to where they were.

"So what's our bright idea?" Rika moaned. Her bike began to slowly float forward as the others roared off around her.

"Two words," Captain Falcon laughed. "Broadside."

"That's one word." Eric muttered. Crono rolled his eyes.

"Who says you have to take the broad approach?" Heero flipped out his blaster. "All melee fighters go ahead, we'll try to keep them distracted!" on cue, two of the APCs sped off ahead of the group. The hovertank pulled up, the top hatch opening and Balkan pulling himself halfway out. V2 leaned out one of the windows, pulling out a long bazooka, and passing it up to him.

"Everything's ready!" Takeru shouted. "ATTACK!!"

Almost instantly, every vehicle nearly tripled in speed. Takato hunched down to avoid the wind blowing in his face, leaving Guilmon to take most of the abuse. The fleet of bikes and terran vehicles tore down the Hall of Aifried, the retreating Grapplers quickly appearing on the horizon. As the seated Grapplers became visible, several laser blasts flew against the squad, blasting apart one bike and sending its rider flying into the wall. Serge slammed his Setra Weapon down, sparks flying as he spun around the wreckage, and quickly regained his balance. As before, fighters with swords, whips and chains sped forward, an APC leading the charge, while ranged attackers followed suit.

Cody led the charge, swerving to the side as a shot chipped the ground where he once was. He returned to the other side, evading attack again. Finally, he sped forward, winding up and slashing out the tires of a trailing soldier. The bike flipped wildly, eventually hitting the ground, dead. As a pirate settled on Cody's left, Raynor swerved out from behind the APC, blasting away. Cody sped away as the bike's rear burst into flames, mere moments before it exploded. The Grappler bikes hugged both sides of the passage, allowing an APC to back through.

"Blasterproof armor Mk.IV!" Falco cried. "That stuff's a nightmare!"

"Don't we have ANYTHING that can put a dent in that?" Dante ducked, another blast whizzing over his head. "What about your magical Ki thingies?"

"That and blaster energies share the same energy format, I'm afraid," Minonim beeped, clinging onto Dante's bike. "It would take a significant amount of Ki to punch through Mk.IV armor."

"Even then, the recoil's too great," Gohan muttered. "You won't be able to stay on a vehicle that way."

"Fox can hold you in place." V2 sighed, shrugging.

"I can focus a two-ton object, not a nuclear laser!" Fox scowled.

"But don't we have shells left in the hovertank?!" V2 screeched.

"Empty." Heero sighed.

"You'd better think of something, and fast!" Balkan shouted. Everybody looked forward. The entire back of the APC folded back as a manned turret raised slightly, locking into position. Kirby reached behind the bike, picking up a helmet exactly like Samus'. Quickly putting it on, he held on tight as Samus pulled up alongside Balkan's hovertank. Kirby quickly clambered up the side of the machine, sitting himself on the end of the gun barrel. He grasped his arm, pretending to aim it at the vehicle.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!!" Takato yelled. "Get out from behind the ta-"

A giant ball of energy gathered at Kirby's arm, and everybody fell back as instructed.

"Out of curiousity," Fox murmured. "What beam are you using, anyways?"

"Maximum power Charge/Spazer," Samus replied. "Why?"

Both blinked as a nova-like flash erupted, soon followed by shouts, yells, a sound similar to someone being hit in the face with a large pillow, and the inhuman screeching of a hoverbike slamming and spinning down against the ground. Ahead, the large ball of energy slammed into the ground just behind the APC, the explosion, speeding it up and flipping the back end over. The light tank tumbled down the hallway with a thunderous crash, before finally landing on its top, beginning to smoke as it hit the ground. Several soldiers escaped the wreckage, running for cover as the Smash bikes roared up and off the side of the APC, flying through the air and landing full-speed beyond it. The other APC rumbled overtop of its downed comrade, Vegeta crouching as the vehicle struggled to come down balanced. The hovertank slowly slid to a halt in front of the wreckage, its inhabitants fleeing and climbing over the APC on foot. Eric and Balkan both powered up, tearing down the hallway in a mad ki-assisted sprint.

"That's how they want to play?!" Takato screeched.

"It would appear that way." Minonim droned.

Almost immediately, everyone present that had blasters tossed them into sight, fully charged. People fired from their bikes, some leant out of their covered vehicles, while others got completely out and fought from on top of them. Eric lunged out of nowhere, flipping in the air, and came down on his back - gripping the rear axle of a soldier-manned bike as hard as he could. As he continued being drug on the ground, the Grappler shrieked in shock, swerving to try to dismantle Eric from the vehicle. Instead, Eric growled, forcing both of his hands together and crushing the rear wheel. As the destroyed tire lost its inflation almost instantly, Eric let go, sliding to a stop, as the bike wobbled and steered itself into the wall. All the incoming bikes wove around Eric as he stood up, quickly building up speed as he started his run again.

The crowd of pirates scattered as melee fighters divided them. Crono leant in as he swept, slashing out the front tire of another bike as it attempted to swerve away. He didn't bother to look as the vehicle quickly lost speed, eventually flipping itself over front-over-back. Range fighters set themselves up in formation directly behind the fight, taking any open shots available.

Tails raised his small pistol, firing once. Taking his other hand off the handlebar, he quickly began reloading. As he clicked the cartridge into place, he regained control just in time to keep himself from spinning out. "Shouldn't we be running out of road pretty quick?!"

"There's still too many of them," Heero growled, working off another shot. A pained groan rose out of the brawl, and Heero swept by a body as it hit the ground. "and I think I can start to make out the rear pillar access." he stared out at the gigantic pillar off in the distance, and the tiny speck that meant the end of the Hall of Aifried.

"We're being followed." Raynor said. Glancing back, he saw it rise on his left.

Tron stuck her head out of the side of the APC. "Einhanders?! I thought you took care of all of them!" She ducked as a piece of bike debris bounced over her head.

True to description, a single Einhander was rising rapidly over top of the tunnel, seeming to track Raynor. As he slowly edged to the left, so did the craft. As he tried to return to the other side, it traced his movements.

Fox froze, his blaster still held up in the air. "...there's something totally not right about that Einhander."

Balkan watched intently. "...that energy should be very familiar to all of you! Everybody, speed up! Forget about the Grapplers, burst through, get to the pillar!"

Renamon groaned. "It doesn't have to be organic, does it?"

Balkan shook his head.


--------

The ultimate interceptor model gets a big boost from the Trance energy flowing through it... this is something you don't want to dogfight! Radically enhanced weapons systems and agility only the Tranced Arwing can handle, no one'll want to stare this thing down! It's Matrix Shock is dead accurate and can leave a mark on more than your fighter!

ZWEIHANDER - Mechancial Trance

--------


"We could use some escort!!" Falco shouted into his walkie-talkie.

"Again?!"

Falco turned back to Balkan, fighting the wind. "Balkan! How many of these could the Grapplers have?"

"Probably not that many," Balkan responded. "Given they weren't used during the main engagement, they would have probably left it here instead to head us off. Damn it, why didn't I see this coming..."

"Is there any way to fight it from within the Hall of Aifried?" Minonim asked.

"We can, but it'll be risky." Reid flipped out a blaster of his own, beckoning. Samus' bike slowed down, and Kirby hopped to the back seat of Reid's. "Minonim, if we give you the security codes for Hall lockdown, do you think you can lock down the Hall on command?"

"What's the chance of the Grapplers having not changed it?" Farah scowled.

"That's a risk we're going to have to take." Reid and the others glanced back. A long tendril slid from the side of the Zweihander, extending what looked like a energy blade, nearly six meters long. "Zweihander's going to attack any second, and it doesn't look like he really gives a crap if he breaches the Hall."

"This is bad." Cody muttered.

"Hurry!" Reid commanded. "Minonim, Samus, Kirby, follow me. Everyone else, keep going! Work on the Grapplers and get to the pillar, we'll try to keep Zweihander busy!"

"What's the big holdup, huh?" Teisel growled. "If you're going out there, then we're coming!"

Reid had no time to object as his and Tron's bike stopped, and a bike manned by four Servbots flipped over, dispatching its operators. "All right, everyone, listen up. This is going to be risky, so I want you all to be prepared. Are you all capable of outer-space mobility?"

"It's a given." Samus flipped up her visor, accompanied by an electronic buzz. Kirby, nearly engulfed in his own Samusalike helm, nodded. Tron pressed a button on the back of her vest, causing a small bubble of glass to unfold over her head. Teisel did likewise.

Minonim positioned himself near the Servbots. "As you're quite aware, we don't need oxygen. I'm not sure if we're going to be to most agile things in space, though."

"I need you out in space, but not in the action," Reid mumbled. "I need you to come out and seal off the Hall of Aifried once you're outside."

"Why leave us out there?"

"There's no time to explain!" Reid glanced back to the window, where the Zweihander waited hungrily. The guns on its front bristled with a demonic red light, seemingly moments away from blasting away the outer shell of the Hall. "Everybody, hurry! Follow me!"


********


Ultimanium dropped out of the wide shaft, bracing himself on his knee. Spinning his pistol into his hand, he slowly pivoted his head. The tunnel had led into some sort of destroyed security center - a grey haze rose over the surroundings, made from a badly damaged catwalk and several walls of damaged or utterly destroyed computers. A large power level immediately stood out, besides another fairly decent one, though far weaker than his - approximately Ultimanium's own level. Ultimanium glanced up, swinging down his gun. Charmy dropped out of the shaft, nearly losing her balance as she hit the ground with a loud clang.

"Wha? Are we th-" Charmy was quickly silenced as Ultimanium raised his hand.

"...I can't be completely sure if that's Narrin or not. Whoever he is, he has someone else with him, around my power level." Ultimanium grumbled to himself, sliding up against the wall. "It's definately not Antimagnus, but it could be someone dangerous."

"Well, you certainly aren't trustworthy," Narrin smiled, stepping around the corner. "Very acute. I wouldn't be too calm if I were in your shoes either. Well, this is it." he opened his arms, turning to show the rest of the room. "A derelict sector of the Van Eltia. There is nothing here for the Grapplers to purge, so there is no reason to inspect. Now, I am glad you arrived. There are important things that need to be known."

"First things first." Ultimanium flipped his gun towards the corner. "Who's your friend?"

"I don't think I've introduced him, have I?" Narrin laughed. "Come!"

Narrin backed away and Ultimanium lowered his pistol as a cloaked figure came out of the shadows. The dull light made his long blue hair seem pale. He slowly slid to Narrin's side, Ultimanium and Charmy both tracing his movements. Finally he stopped, reaching up and removing his cloaks. Tossing them to the side to unveil tighter-fitting robes, he reached up, removing his spectacles. "You must be Ultimanium. In all respects, welcome to the Van Eltia."

"Ultimanium, this is Keele Zeibel. I do believe you've heard about him before."

"You're Shaun's father." Charmy blurted. "What are YOU doing with Narrin?"

"He came to me for many of the reasons you did, Ultimanium," Narrin continued. "He too has lost something, and has been provided no way of getting it back. With the legacy of the Van Eltia crushed and his son lost among the stars, he came to learn Regen." Narrin leant forward, putting a prophetic emphasis on his voice. "And he too has learned, just like you, that all problems of this universe, sooner or later, lie within the struggle of the Magnusi and their eventual destruction. That is what brings him and others to this place where it will all be decided and many, many people will find their release."

"Wow, Keele, Regen master?" Charmy scratched the back of her head. "Do Reid and Farah know about this? Or Max?"

"This has been a secret struggle for me." Keele closed his eyes, raising his fist. "For ten long years this has been my secret. Very little of my time is spent in Mintche anymore..."

"You built an F-Zero racer." Charmy chirped. "Reid really likes it."

"..." Keele suddenly paused, shocked. Quickly regaining his composure, he smiled softly. "...w-well, that's great! I never though he'd get into the show... he always seemed so bitter towards the technology that I tried to shove in his face all the time, and, well... that was one of the main causes of my return."

"Return?"

"Prior to my work in Mintche last with the F-Zero engine, I was in exodus from Eternia for ten long years. I came in contact with Narrin, who saw the strife I underwent with the invasion of the Grapplers. But there was distant hope... sooner or later, that would be near the end of a long prophecy involving the Magnusi. I left with Narrin, abandoning my home, my science, my research - and trained in the arts of Regen. I still practiced my magicks, all my minor Craymel Artes, and felt at peace with myself, knowing that I would eventually return and reclaim the Van Eltia. Narrin told me of the Argetlahm, and the part it would play in events. The Argetlahm would lead the charge on the Van Eltia, and I would be an elite soldier in that battle. And... here I am."

"Keele follows the same path as you, Ultimanium. It should be clear now."

"What?" Ultimanium mumbled.

"This is not just a battle of Argetlahm anymore. Tell me, how many people in the great battle of Eternia are from the Argetlahm? Look. Through the fleets of multiple space navies, leading the ground charge are all your friends, and random people who have to fight to protect their world, their beliefs, and their dreams. These people are struggling for the honor of the Smash league, but that is still an integral part of this universe to some people, and they aren't giving it up without a fight."

Ultimanium nodded. "So we carry out this battle and find the last Magnusi. We will defeat him, I'll make sure of it."

Narrin folded his arms, slowly stepping away before setting his eyes on the dead computers. "If it were that simple, I would have done it myself."

Charmy blinked. "...what are you talking about?"

Narrin heaved a sigh. "...Ultimanium. Do you have any sort of indication where I am reciting this entire ancient parphlet from?"

Ultimanium grit his teeth. "THIS should be good."

"...everything that's been ever said about the J technology, all its blueprints, all its precautions, all its footnotes, were inscribed on the tablet that Sherheim unveiled. The warning inscriptures and the unveling of the Magnusi were also documented on that same tablet."

Ultimanium backed up, throwing himself into the wall. His arms shuddered as his hands struggled to grip the smooth surface. Suddenly growling, he threw himself forward, much to Keele and Charmy's shock. "You mean... to say... Sherheim knew EVERYTHING about the effects of the J?!?"

"Uh oh." Charmy squeaked.

"...yes." Narrin sighed.

Ultimanium clenched his fists, nearly cutting into his palm with his nails, as he felt his Ki skyrocket inside of him. "...why... WHY would he do something like this?! WHY?!?"

Narrin suddenly went stoic. "It's quite simple, actually. Sherheim read the tablet. Sherheim understood the prophecy."

"BUT WHY?!?" Ultimanium screamed.

Ultimanium looked ready to explode. He fell forward onto his knees, sobbing. Charmy twitched, reluctantly keeping away from Ultimanium. Keele did likewise.

Narrin just stared sadly.



"So he could rule the Magnusi."



********



Shaun held his cannon upright as he jogged down the hall, Melanie and Max trailing him. They came out into a large chamber on the inside face of the pillar. The entrance into the Hall of Aifried stood, the maw busy with Grapplers settling themselves into bunkered positions and others racing out of the tunnel on bikes and other small transit vehicles.

"What's going on?" Max growled.

"I think the other division of Argetlahm is making the transfer to this pillar. I wasn't thinking they'd mop up over there so quickly. If Argetlahm and the armed forces are centering their efforts on this pillar now, then Grapplers are sure to follow." Shaun raised his cannon, ejecting a shell from it. "Out of the frying pan..."

"...and into the fire." Max braced himself, glancing forward as soldiers quickly set themselves up. Off in the distance a legion of vehicles could be seen. It was easy to notice it wasn't manned by Grapplers. As the soldiers raised their weapons, Shaun grit his teeth, marching out into the open. Several pirates stood from their position, ready to attack.

"MAINTAIN HEADING!!" the commander yelled, near the front of the embattlement. Two others stood, armed with scouters.

"Let me take care of this," one said in a damaged, garbled voice. The other gave him a disgusted glance, and seated himself again, picking up his rifle. The pirate advanced slowly towards Shaun, coming up around his side. "Ah, wait, don't tell me. We have a whole brigade out looking for you. From the data WE have, you're Shaun Garin. Am I correct?"

Shaun glared daggers.

"Then you're the key to the Van Eltia." the mercenary swung out a blaster, pointing it directly in Shaun's face. "And, therefore, you're coming wi-ACKKK!!" Shaun suddenly lanced forward, stancing himself and slamming his palm directly into the soldier's chest. A loud crack was heard as the soldier was launched across the room, much to the bewilderment of his fellow troops. Shaun reached up, catching the blaster as it spun towards the ground, and pointed it towards the other soldier, blasting him directly between the eyes and sending him back into and toppling a stack of barricade bricks.

"We've been disrupted." one other fighter droned.

"THEN DEAL WITH IT!!" the commander screeched.

"What a fine mess you've gotten us into." Max muttered. As three other Grapplers leapt out of hiding, their bright green goggles worn and lit up, he tore the cannon from his back and pointed it into the group, blasting directly into the center of the group. All three soldiers and any missing limbs were sent into the walls, as well as a veritable mountain of debris. A small geyser of datalyte gushed from the giant opening.

Melanie moved to the front as the entire blockade turned to face them, soldiers leaping to the other side of their settlements to return fire. "...eep." Quickly swinging her parasol back and folding it, and whipping it back out into its
open state, she hid behind it as she focused a surge of mana through the handle. "Fan!!" she reeled back as a sphere of light gathered at the center of the parasol face, exploding into a web of smaller shots that riddled the area in front of her. Soldiers hid behind their barracades and riot shields, while other obstructions were toppled, and a lone Grappler took a blast of energy to the chest, sending him skidding across the floor as the gaping hole in his torso took effect.

"NOO! EVERYBODY, SHOOOOT!!" came the startled cry of the lead pirate. The defenders let alone Shaun and his group had no time to look as a group of hoverbikes shot over the horizon, Tails' taking to the air. Others quickly swerved into position, their riders taking shots at any escaping pirates. As vehicles began to pile up at the entrance, it, just like the courtyard before it, turned into a giant free-for-all.

Max stood, dumbfounded, directly in the middle of the battle. "...what the hell?!"

"No time!" Shaun shouted, dragging Max off by the arm. "We'll just follow the others, they'll take us to where we're needed!" Melanie took up the rear, firing off several more blasts as the group ducked behind a destroyed barrier.


********


Reid took out his sword. Off in the distance, the Zweihander still hovered. Reid kept his eyes on the cockpit as he stepped towards the wall, scanning its surface with his hand.

"We don't have all day here!" Tron whined. "This thing could blow us up any second now!"

"I'm working on it," Reid muttered. He pressed forward against the datalyte-circulated panel, and felt it sink in. "Ah, here we go..." Reid backed up, pressing harder on the tile. The wall depressed with a loud clank, severing the panel's connection to the datalyte. The liquid poured out the newly created openings, emptying into a grate in the floor. "Minonim, if I can get the codes to you, I need you to establish a remote link with the evac computers at both ends and relay them. It'll seal off the section of the Hall of Aifried we're in and drop it into space."

"Tell me, since you've already triggered the first stages of the seperation, these codes are guaranteed to work." Balkan stepped out of thin air, landing softly on the ground.

"Balkan, you're supposed to be with the others."

"I'm not one for mass engagements. I'd be more than happy to take care of Zweihander for you. I do Trance, you know." Balkan loosened his arms, a dark aura flaring around him as armor clamped around his torso and dark purple energy blades grew from his wrists. As the Xaeros transformation completed, Reid returned to his business.

"...yeah, whatever. And... I'm just hoping this password still works."

"Real confidence booster there." Tron flipped up her helmet. Samus groaned.

Reid slammed the panel one last time, causing it to flare up in a bright yellow light. "Alright, I've got the switch ready to go." Reid reached back for his sword as a large slot opened in the wall, which he jammed his sword into. Reid twisted the blade to the side, taking the entire panel with it. The device emitted an electronic thrum, and the wall datalyte around the slot began to pulse with light. 30 meters away, the datalyte retained its normal color.

"Minonim." Reid stared at the small probe. "The password is... baiba."

"Using expletitives. That's a new one." Xaeros snapped.

Minonim touched his mechanical arm between his eyes. "Okay, then, I'll get right on that." His eyes twitched as he began to transfer the information to both ends of the Hall.

"Get ready, everyone," Samus commanded. "That COULD open the Hall." Following instructions, Tron and Teisel returned their helmets to their normal locked positions, as did Samus.

There was a long pause afterwards. The light of the datalyte slowly began to die, along with the tedious pumping of the substance. Kirby tapped the wall. Nothing happened.

CLANK

"Whoa!.." Samus raised her arm cannon on impulse, as did Kirby. There was a faint whirring, followed by another metal noise. There was another pause, and a short distance away on both sides, gates slid up from the floor, blocking off both sides of the Hall. Reid quickly slid his helmet on, attaching it. Soon, gradually but surely, the group's section of the Hall, inbetween the two great gates, began to slide downwards out of the grip of the Van Eltia. With a loud grind, the small capsule began to completely drift downwards off into space.

Teisel frowned as, off in the distance, the Zweihander pivoted to face them. He and the others watched as it roared off into space.

"...that was crappy." Tron sighed.

"He wouldn't just leave because h- WATCH OUT!!" Balkan grabbed Tron and Teisel in headlocks, the rockets on his boots flaring up as he leapt to the other end of the tube. The Zweihander suddenly swooped out of nowhere, its tendril whipping across and flaying the side of the cylinder. There was a pause as the prior piece of the Van Eltia floated away into two seperate parts.

"...uhh..." Reid tugged nervously at his suit.

"We can't stand still forever," Samus muttered. "We made the decision to come out here, now we're going to follow through with it." Samus reeled backwards, leaping forwards out the gap in the tube. The pair of small jets on her back flared up as her suit emitted a short squeal. The outer layer of it turned white, covering itself in an additional purple layer. The Gravity suit would be essential for a zero-G fight. Kirby followed suit. Soon, everyone had completely left the fragment of the Hall of Aifried, letting it drift slowly into space.

"Incoming." Minonim sighed. Off in the distance, the Zweihander performed a wide, sweeping turn, setting its sights on the group.

"Scatter!!" Samus yelled. Everyone fled as the front of her blaster opened up, unveiling a second cannon. She flipped back as, with a loud crack, a rocket launched from the gap and barelled off into space in the direction of the Zweihander. The Zweihander evaded accordingly, the turret on the bottom shifting into place and blasting the explosive projectile out of existance. It swooped down, ready to cut across Samus' line of sight. Quickly flipping up into a lying-down position and firing the thrusters on her boots, she managed to dodge as the tendril on the blindsiding Zweihander lashed out at her, the blade coming mere inches from her visor. Kirby sprung against the side of the Hall, firing his own charged-up shot. The ship barrel-rolled at the last second, deflecting the surge of energy. Kirby's eyes went wide as he leapt from his position, the blast being deflected again by the material of the Hall. Tron ducked as the shot launched out into deep space, detonating with a blinding flash.

"Blitzing it isn't going to help!" Xaeros shouted. "It's too agile!"

"I'll try to short it out," Samus growled. Jetting herself backwards, she twisted the barrel of her arm cannon, causing it to gain a purple aura. A loud static shock was heard as she aimed it up again. "Dodge this!" A ball of electricity grew on the end, sending her back again as she let it loose. The Zweihander turned, heading straight towards the bolt of energy. Rotating and diving to the side, the shot kept going.

"Augh." Teisel slapped his forehead.

"Hang on!" Xaeros rocketed backwards, stepping in front of the energy blast. Mumbling to himself, he raised his two hands up in the way of the shot. Much to everyone's surprise, the energy travelled harmlessly straight through his palms, and kept going to deflect off the other side of the Hall. It launched back out into space, this time turning sharply and heading back towards the Zweihander. The ship rolled to dodge the attack, its pilot chuckling to himself.

His yells were soon overshadowed by the crackling electricity as it suddenly cut a 90-degree turn and slammed into the starboard of the Zweihander. Tron shielded her eyes as the surface of the Zweihander was sheeted in tiny charged bolts. As the light cleared, the interceptor was left on its side, twitching as the energy began to diminish.

"Finish it!" Reid yelled.

"We can't get close enough! A Trance doesn't go down so easy! We have to damage it more before we can deliver a finishing blow..."

Teisel clamped his hands over Minonim. "Take me in!" Minonim hesitantly sped forwards, and stopped afterwards, slingshotting Teisel towards the Zweihander. Teisel spread himself out as he began to approach the ship, sprawling himself against the back wing.

"What the hell is he doing?!" Tron screeched.

Teisel flipped open a console on the back of his glove, hitting a switch. He felt himself jump as the magnets on his boots activated, securing him tightly to the surface of the Zweihander. "...don't move.. don't move.." Teisel dug in the heavy bag over his shoulder for some variety of wrench.

"We can't let it move away again!" Reid swung his sword behind him with both hands, launching himself forward. As the pilot began to regain control over the ship, Reid dropped down, jamming his sword in a gap between the other wing and the cockpit. The blade struck deep into the infrastructure, cutting support to the engine directly behind it. The light behind the Zweihander began to dampen.

"What exactly did you do, anyways?" Tron asked.

"Trance energy is immense in that ship's circuitry," Xaeros said. "It would draw another source of Trance energy near to it. So I gave Samus' wave beam a little boost. Pardon me, I have some work to do." Growling, Xaeros rocketed forward, raising his wristblade high. He yelled, driving the blade deep into the ship's fuselage as he scorched by.

"G-got it!" Teisel pressed himself off the Zweihander, flipping back out into space. His wrench remained on the Zweihander, on one of the few bolts that weren't undone on the one wing. Unlatching his blaster, he took aim and fired. The bolt arced down and hit one of the last attached sections of the left wing, causing it to make a metal scream as it swiveled and bent down off the ship altogether. Reid felt his heart jump as Xaeros detached himself from the ship, it beginning to buck and spin as it began to lose equilibrium.

"Uh oh." Samus backed off as the craft began to wobble towards the Hall. Boosting away, Samus planted her feet against the slanted wall, pressing down as she dashed along it. Not the most convienient method of travel, but she was moving much faster than her boosters allowed in free hover. Samus glanced back as she began to slow down, out of range of the Zweihander.

"Samus! You can't stay on the-" Reid was cut short as the Zweihander screeched one last time, plummeting head on into the surface of the hall. The ship screamed one last metal grind as it plowed into the Hall, self-destructing on impact. A wave of flame blasted over the circumference of the hall before expanding outwards in a gigantic explosion. Samus glanced back in time to see the wall of fire reach full crescendo. The Hall had been completely split into two sections. The entire Van Eltia had, in a matter of seconds, been divided into two pieces.

"Acckk!!.." Samus quickly hunched down, boosting off the surface of the Hall as a concussive wave swept over the hull nearest to Samus. As soon as Samus' feet left the wall, the wave swept under, cracking as the Hall directly underneath it depressurized. The force blasted outwards, launching Samus spinning out into space.

"Her boosters can't right her at that velocity!" Minonim screeched.

Xaeros slammed his hands forward, growling as he started to concentrate. "There's only one chance left. And it isn't pretty." Everybody glanced over to Xaeros. A wisp of energy shot from the firestorm, which plowed straight into Xaeros. Winding up, Xaeros thrust his hand forward, casting the surge of energy out into space. "Trance!"

Samus swung out, latching onto the sphere with her blasterless hand. She was surprised to find it extremely dense, and able to grasp physically. She clamped onto it desperately, beginning to align herself with it. She could already feel the energy begin to dissiapate, feeding into her suit's systems. Information filled her mind. The Trance energy from the downed Zweihander was partially synthesized and ready for use.

"Hyperzone!" Samus dampened her visor as a crackling ball of energy grew on the end of her blaster. A cataclysmic flash filled her vision as a laser nearly twice her height erupted with an ear-piercing crackle. The outer casing of her blaster seperated, refolding and rearranging itself to sustain the attack. And it worked well. The massive force output of the bright blue beam launched her the other way. She was nothing more than a missile at this point, her movement beginning to cease as the massive whiplash started to take effect and unconsciousness began to settle in. Xaeros swooped in, rocketing himself backwards as fast as he could as Samus slammed into him. Xaeros gripped Samus' arms over his shoulder, rocked back from the blast as he began to lower down to the top of the Hall. Tron, Teisel, Reid and Minonim all rushed over, looking over the downed bounty hunter.

"Is she going to be alright?" Reid asked.

"She just got flung back pretty hard..." Balkan murmured. "She got a good neck crack, anyways. Probably the worst thing that happened was the sudden jump in Gs. She'll be alright, but it'll be a little bit before she regains consciousness."

Reid stared out into space, then turned back to the impact zone. Chunks of debris from both the Zweihander and the Hall of Aifried hovered around the massive break in the Van Eltia. "...that's the Trance. Xaeros, did Samus manage to Trance?"

"Partially." Xaeros muttered. "I figure using the attack came naturally to her, however, I don't think the energy managed to fully sink in before she knocked herself unconscious. Right now it's supercharged her suit, but I wouldn't classify that as a full-power Trance."

"Let's just worry about that later," Teisel sighed. "Let's get out of here before any more Einhanders show up."


********


"What are we supposed to do?" Ultimanium growled. "After we get rid of Antimagnus, then what? Will Sherheim come out of hiding?"

"I've already told you, the prophecy makes no mention of that." Narrin said angrily. "All we can do is fight what battles we can and wait for him to show himself physically."

"You mean Sherheim isn't even a physical entity by default? This is FUCKING dandy!!" Ultimanium drove his fist through the wall, shattering a pipe. Removing his hand, steam hissed out. Charmy frowned. "I want SOME information! There's got to be SOMETHING we can do right now!"

Keele stepped forward. "I agree with Ultimanium. This may be a prophecy, but it will remain a prophecy until we unveil it. There are people giving up their lives right now to supply an opening, so we need to use it."

"A simple Trance will not defeat Sherheim," Narrin laughed harshly. "Sherheim, the best I can guess, is now an extradimensional figure. I'm not even sure if he can be physically harmed. To make a long story short, Sherheim could be a dimension above all of us."

"But there's only six dimensions..." Charmy sputtered. "...well, seven, uncovered recently... there can't be an eigth dimension, can there?"

"Sherheim potentially has the power to manipulate the dimensions as he sees fit without the use of a dimensionsplitter. The ways he could use that against you are left to the imagination. For theoretical purposes... 1D is width, 2D is height, 3D is depth, 4D is time, 5D is physic, 6D is reality, 7D is Trance, and 8D... is dimension."

"A dimension related to dimensions?"

"I'm just using that as a model of what could be occuring here. 8D is, in all terms, the maximum dimension."

"First things first," Ultimanium said. "We take care of Antimagnus. We'll deal with the wrath of God later."

"...alright, then." Narrin straightened himself. "If that's how it must be... you three obviously have, for lack of better terming, no idea what shit you're getting yourselves into. Ultimanium, Charmy, Keele - Sherheim has powers beyond all of you, and beyond the concept of Trance itself. The greatest asset you have is your foot in the door of the eigth dimension."

Charmy tilted her visor. "Come again?"

Narrin nodded. "The J-dimensionsplitter. It's gotten you this far, and it has and will always be your ultimate weapon."


Ultimanium, Charmy and Keele all stared at each other. They all nodded.


********


On the bridge of the Argetlahm, people were running around in every direction. There were constantly people leaping between defense stations, thinning out what remained of the Einhander fleet. Tacticians were hammering away at computers scattered all over the floor.

"...you're crazy. We just can't up and do that..." a single man stood at the helm of the Argetlahm, talking through a walkie-talkie. "...Ultimanium, are you fucking NUTS?! We can't drop all our shields, all our weapons systems and life support! I don't care if the oxygen'll last us a week, it's stupid!... what good is THAT going to do? It works just fine on conventional powe- that's suicide! Can the Argetlahm even support a full fleet's worth of power? No, I will NO-"

A blade ran through his chest. A VERY large blade. A loud grind was heard as the sword removed itself, dropping the body to the floor. The figure tossed the sword to the side, letting it clatter against the ground. Everybody stopped staring and went back to work. Tugging on his jacket, the assailant picked up the walkie-talkie, holding it up.

"...this is Argetlahm. We're all ready to go. We're ready to evacuate all personnel to the Van Eltia on your mark. All energy will begin channeling in T-minus 120 seconds. Very well, then." the man released the button on the device, tossing it to the ground as well. "You heard me. All personnel head to the primary hangar. We warp in now. This will be the final transportation jump utilizing the J, so enjoy it while it lasts."


"You ARE fucking nuts, Davis."


********


"This is getting old fast." Falco ducked, a lightning bolt streaking over his head. Him and the remainder of the ranged fighters were settled inside a fountain, offering little cover and plenty of moisture, as they all sat inside taking turns dunking their heads under to avoid attacks.

"Oh, give it a rest already." Samus leant back, firing several shots into the fray. A battalion of soldiers were beginning to set up around the boardwalk, shooting inwards as they did so. The only recently-awakened Samus felt the impulse to let out with another Hyperzone, but decided against the feedback.

"Urgh!" Cody leapt up onto the rim of the fountain, slashing at another energy blade-wielder. "This is it! They don't have anywhere else to run!"

"Yeah, they're all running TOWARDS us." Glenn leapt from a balcony, dropkicking another fighter on the way down. "ALL of them."

"It looks like we're going to be stuck in mortal combat here." Minonim covered his eyes, remaining still as an explosion sent a hoverbike hurtling over top of him.

Helmut pointed both his fingers out into the crowd, chain-firing minor Ki blasts into the advancing line. "I'm curious, where the hell are all the Ki fighters at this point?"

Serge parried another attack. "Somewhere where they obviously don't care about us!"




********






Ant imagnus could only stare in shock. And as could be expected, it takes a fair amount to shock a Magnusi. "...this is impossible. Could this truly be..? Where are all our reinforcements? What happened to the second Einhander fleet?! They couldn'tve simply disappeared!"

There was a bright flash. Out of a faint outline in the air stepped forth the tall, bulky figure of Sherheim, energy crackling around his business suit as his penny loafers softly touched the ground. As the energy began to subside, he fell back onto his heels, arching back as the portal behind him disappeared.

"...w-what are you doing?!" Antimagnus shrieked. "You can't seriously be-"

Sherheim slowly stepped up to the pane of glass in front of the two, stopping and folding his hands behind his back. "...if I didn't know any better, I'd say our 6D Magnusi is afraid of what's going on here."

"...S-Sh-Sherheim! Master!.." Antimagnus collapsed onto his knees, bowing. "By the Zeal, I have waited these long years!.."

"Cut the formalities," Sherheim muttered. "Anyways, I'd like to make the mention that Ultimanium and his ragtag band have found the truth. Truth even you don't know. Narrin Aldur... that fool is here. He is the one that created Ultimanium, and gave birth slowly but surely to the epic siege you now witness. The Grappler hold on this ship is slowly but surely fading, and there is nothing that can be done about it. The remaining third have begun their evacuation. They are heading to a far off planet, out of your reach. But this is all moot. What matters now is that you take action."

"Ultimanium has grown. And he has even more powerful Trances on his side than before." Antimagnus droned. "I may be the most powerful Trance, but I cannot guarantee anything with these statistics."

"You WILL do so, Antimagnus," Sherheim chuckled. "Argetlahm may have the possibility of destroying you, but I can do far, FAR worse things." Sherheim slowly lowered his head, drawing his tongue slowly up Antimagnus' cheek. Antimagnus twitched, ready to attack his violator though at the same time apparent of his possible sudden obliteration. Antimagnus slowly stood, daring not to wipe himself. Stepping to the side, he turned, marching emotionlessly out of the room.

Sherheim smirked as the door quietly shut. "Good boy. But you lack confidence. Fine, if you believe you lack the power to defeat your enemies, you will be granted assistance from the Magnusi Prime, conqueror of dimensions, ruler of the Zeal, transcendant to the J."

Beyond life.
Beyond Trance.

Sherheim could only stand and laugh to himself. Time? Reality? Life? Trance? They were only dimensions. Ones that were ready to be traversed. There was only a moment to contemplate.






At that moment, everything changed. Sherheim himself had the oppritunity to reverse everything Argetlahm had eve accomplished in a blink of an eye. The third dimension could still be a barren wasteland. The Magnusi could walk the dimensions unharmed. Even Ultimanium, Magnus, Lord Raul and the Argetlahm itself could have been simply thought out of existance by the God. It was Sherheim's grudge, Sherheim's critical fault that made him do otherwise.

So he couldn't stand up and smite the dimensions then and there. He had things to clear up. Simply snuffing Ultimanium from existance with less than a sideways glance would have been less than fulfilling. He wanted to watch him and every living being in the cosmos suffer. Granted, with some work he could have arranged that too. But he wanted it done by his and the bare hands of the Magnusi.

So he did the next best thing.

Sherheim looked up as the door opened again. For a mere moment he thought it would've been Antimagnus, but there was enough difference physically to think otherwise.



"I'm ready." Ultramagnus murmured.







TO BE CONTINUED...

Ultimatum 3: Trance Trauma
The Last Jump
Part 2