Side Story The Goddess

[Crunch]

@The Ground Team
The Wreck of the Crusader
Eli clenched his jaw and whispered a curse to himself.
"Fine," He snapped a moment later. "We'll go. We'll take anyone who can walk."
Captain White had always known that the life of a solider would require him to make some tough calls, but not like this. He had never dreamed that he'd have to life a ship full of men to burn in Hell.
"Those who can't fight are under your protection now, Mother." Eli gave his orders without meeting the Demon's eyes. His shame prevented him from catching her eye. "If any of them wake up or some survivors come down from a higher floor... they'll be taking their orders from you. Keep them alive, would you? Dying in Hell... God only knows what that would do to your soul..."
"We can't wait any longer. We need to move."
"Yeah, Silque and Martin are right... If you can walk, follow Scott. If you can carry a wounded solider, take one. If they slow us down... we then they'll have to stay."
...
@Team Leave
The Endless Plains, Blackheart's Realm
View attachment 4559
Stepping out of the wreck of the Crusader felt like stepping into another world. It was like nothing you had ever seen before. The scorched wastelands seemed to stretch out forever. The Netherworld's surface was void of all life. No trees. No bushes. The flat, dry landscape was only broken up by a series of jagged jagged stones that curled over the Chosen's path like twisted fingers. The air was humid, hot and hard to swallow. It stank of brimstone. It was Hellish. It was Hell.

"Get back," Scott ordered, pushing his men against the wall of a nearby ditch. A demonic patrol soared over head. Their visage was just as foul as it had been at the Citadel: they were as pale, thin and blistered as they had always been, only now a pair of bat like wings carrier each unit across the bloody sky.

"Since when did Hell have a security patrols..."

"Since the Black Army started digging trenches and building anti-aircraft canons..."

"Of course... they were expecting an attack... How far out are these canons?"

"It's hard to say. About a Mile or two East of here, maybe?"

Eli set one of his men down against a nearby rock and scowled.

"We'll need you to take us there."

"No."

"No?"

"No. You don't understand what you're up against. You know nothing about the forces Blackheart has at his disposal. Marching on one of his outposts takes months of planning."

"And we don't have months. Sooner or later, the Fellowship are going to take down that warship. A fleet of star-ships is about to fly through that portal straight into that trap. Tens of Thousands of soldiers- good men, young men- are going to die unless we take out those canons. Unless we do something, that blood will be on our hands."

"And if we try to fight the Black Army now, we will all die. We need to get back to the Cave and gather the rest of the Hellions before we even think about engaging with the Black Army!"

"Ever second we waste, we're a moment closer to loosing this war! Don't you get it, Scott? Their lives matter more than ours. More than your band of hunters. More than mine. Dammit, man! We can't wait around and do nothing!"

@Takumi @Raynar Saassin @amwexia @GroundTeam
____________________________________________________​

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
As soon as the Hellions and the War Council passed over one of the large rocks in the near distance, and second thunderbolt rippled across the sky and struck the earth beside Big Mother.
View attachment 4561
"Low and behold, a wandering soul!" The Reaper cried as he emerged from the column of light. His 'assistant' followed, his arms bound by to his chest be a tight straight jacket. "And a mighty one, by the looks of things! Alas, I had expected little opposition! Just fodder for my blade! But it appears as if fate has bless you and I, aye, Cunber?"
The Beast-Man beside him simply snarled.
View attachment 4562
"Mmmmrrrghhh...."
"A man of few words, and yet so wise..." The Reaper jested. "I take it you'll want to fight the big one? And I shall be left to mow down the nameless grunts? Sounds fair to me. Now." His turned to address Big Mother directly. "Kindly step aside, so that I might be able to reap your friends and that my friend might be able to kick you? So asks.... the Grim Reaper!"

@Jeremi (undecided: @Crunch @Crow @Lucky @York )​

@Air Team
The Battle of Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal
"For Arfoire" The second woman taunted, mimicking Brave's voice. "Please. You Secularists are all the same. We've heard it all before."
Stretching out her arms, the Tuffle's power surged forth, forming an sapphire barrier around her person. Magic's aura clashed against her own, sending sparks flying across the skyline. From behind her barrier, the second woman folded her arms and laughed. "Hey, Oren! I like this one! I'm calling dibs on her body once we've crushed their fleet!"
"Whatever, Kamin! Just try to leave her in one piece, 'kay?"
View attachment 4564
A sonic-boom shook the skies as Kamin unleashed the true power of her stolen body.
"Can't make any promises, bro! We haven't had a fight like this since the Citadel! I'm gonna savor it!"
In a flash, the Tuffle lowered her shield and planted a quick sucker punch on Magic's cheek. The strength of the Super Saiyan was enough to send the CFW soaring back across the void and straight into Brave and the Droids horde.
"Come on! Where's that 'wrath' you promised me! Come on! Up and at 'em!"

@Raynar Saassin​

"Oh, come on!" Oren sulked. "That's gotta be cheating!"

[Krack-oom]

Kolin's ship was scattered to the four winds under the force of the Tuffle's attack, but, my some miracle, its true target had avoid harm. Kolin's gambit had pain off--- she slipped past the warships' shields and struck its launching deck with a crack.

[W-Hey! You're not supposed to be here!]
View attachment 4566
A droid groaned from its behind one of this launching bay's large plasma canons. The mechanical man raised its rifle and prepared to fire. But before it could fulfill its directive, its plan was cut short. A large metallic object crushed him. It was the crumbled wreck of a Fellowship star-fighter.

"Hey! I said get back here!!!"

With a roar, Oren launched himself across the battlefield, a large metallic object in his arms-- another Fellowship star fighter

He threw it across the launching bay. Steel screeched and sparks flew. The star fighter turned droids and small ships alike to pulp as it rolled across the deck to reach Kolin.

"Roman!" Zamasu's voice crackled from Roman's radio. "Focus! Kolin needs you!"

@amwexia @Yun Lee
​

THUNK!

A large chunk of metal plating suddenly goes flying off the top of the debris pile, slamming into the ground next to the so-called 'Reaper' and his ally. A blackened silhouette slowly rises from the pile; it's telltale crimson coloration and a multitude of spikes being recognizable to Big Mother as Eliphas. The Dark Apostle rolled his neck casually, eliciting a few muffled cracks from underneath his armor. He turned his helmet downwards to identify his esteemed guests.

A low and level chuckle left the helmet as he started down the scrap hill, swinging his Accursed Crozius by his side like a pendulum.

"Aah, and here I had feared I would not find a supple offering for Khorne. I don't think you've realized the mistake you've made, little man."

The Inheritor ended his march by Big Mother's side, planting his Crozius into the dirt. Arcs of violet psychic electricity danced between his fingers, a muted buzzing filling the air.

"You will not be walking away from this one."

@Sark @Jeremi @TeamStay​

 

[Jeremi]

THUNK!

A large chunk of metal plating suddenly goes flying off the top of the debris pile, slamming into the ground next to the so-called 'Reaper' and his ally. A blackened silhouette slowly rises from the pile; it's telltale crimson coloration and a multitude of spikes being recognizable to Big Mother as Eliphas. The Dark Apostle rolled his neck casually, eliciting a few muffled cracks from underneath his armor. He turned his helmet downwards to identify his esteemed guests.

A low and level chuckle left the helmet as he started down the scrap hill, swinging his Accursed Crozius by his side like a pendulum.

"Aah, and here I had feared I would not find a supple offering for Khorne. I don't think you've realized the mistake you've made, little man."

The Inheritor ended his march by Big Mother's side, planting his Crozius into the dirt. Arcs of violet psychic electricity danced between his fingers, a muted buzzing filling the air.

"You will not be walking away from this one."

@Sark @Jeremi @TeamStay​

"Perhaps I will let him try," Big Mother replied as Eliphas stepped up next to her. "When I rip his legs and arms off. I think that would be rather humorous to watch, wouldn't you agree, Eliphas?"

@Crunch @Sark

 

[Sark]

"The day I give up my body is the day where I die and revive my great goddess. You shall not take my moment away from me."

CFW Magic hissed at their comment of 'claiming dibs on her body' as she was sent flying towards her companion who was dealing with the Vulture Droids.

"Magic?!"
"Hmph. That one is proving to be tiresome. Brave, on me. We shall defeat them together."

They both nodded to each other as she readied her Scythe and slashed it towards the air; sending numerous scythe-shaped projectiles towards Kamin and the Vulture Droids in an attempt to distract as Brave would fly around and prepare to slash into their head with his flaming sword!​

@Air Team
The Battle of Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal
"Nice try!" Kamin cried as he crossed arms shielded her from the barrage of projectiles. "But you're going to have to try harder than that if--"

[Krack!]

Brave's follow up attack caught the Tuffle off guard. His sword wasn't strong enough to slice through her skin, but the force behind the strike was enough to send Kamin soaring down toward that Hell Portal beneath her.

"Wait--what---impossib---" She yelled in confusion. Even as she shook of the pain of Brave's strike, Kamin found herself unable to strike back at the CFW. Her hand twitched and trembled as her strength of gravity well bellow her. The more she resisted, the stronger the force dragging her down seemed to grow. "No! This body was supposed to be--- damnit!"

Her stolen body had become a sinking ship. A spark of crimson leaped from her forehead and burned its way through the space between Brave and his victim. The sparked seeded to twist around itself as its flew. Slowly, it began to change into a strange, humanoid form...

View attachment 4574

"I'm---not---done---yet!"

Kamin groaned in exhaustion as her Ki fought against the pull of the Portal. Without a Tuffle Mind to pilot it, Kamin's 'old' body went limp and slipped into the abyss below. With a rebel yell, Kamin put her all into her charge, and, with a flash of indigo light, she wrapped her fingers around Brave's throat.

"If I'm going to Hell, I'm gonna take you with me!!!"

For one sweet moment, Kamin stopped fighting and let the Portal's gravitational pull take her wherever it wished. With CFW Brave in her grasp, Kamin slipped into the mouth of the Netherworld...

@Raynar Saassin​

“A-alright!” Roman said, his anxiety peaking through the roof. He pushes forward, heading towards Kolin as the anxiety causes electricity to surge through his body and into the ship. He presses a button, shooting a missile at an enemy ship that’s trying to attack Kolin.

Oh, she can breathe in space, apparently. She’s running across a sheet of ice that wasn’t there before. Fuck, things just keep getting weirder and weirder.

“I wanna go home... I wanna go home... let me go home... please...” he says, weeping sorrowful tears.

@Sark @Yun Lee @Air Team​

She was starting to run out of breath. Kolin managed to make it, but if she couldn't breathe, then what was the point?! And to make things worse, she was being attacked with a ship...literally! As Roman added some cover fire, Kolin got to work slashing at the ship she was on, creating blades of ice on her hands in order to cut open a hole for herself!

@Sark @amwexia​

"Do you mind?" Oren snapped, shaking off one of Roman's missiles as if it were nothing. "We're trying to have a fight here! I just want to kill this chick! You'll get your turn later!"

Distracted by Roman's attack, Oren's aim was thrown off by an inch or too. Safely tucked away inside her hole, Kolin was left relatively unharmed by the rolling ship. Her greatest injuries were bestowed upon her a handful of glass shards and shredded steel cutting that had fallen from the crushed star ship.

"C'mon! Now you're going to suffocate on me? You're no fun!" The Tuffle groaned. "You know what? I might as well put you out of your misery!"
View attachment 4572
A burning ball of ki began to form in Oren's right hand. Another appeared in his left hand. He aimed both one at Kolin and the other at Roman.

"Hope this isn't all you've got! I mean! You've got to have some fight left in you!"

@amwexia @Yun Lee​

“The peak of hubris,” Big Mother started her height and presence growing as she continued. “A human thinking they are worthy a title bestowed upon Death itself.”

She looked behind her at the others from the council and the rebels. “I don’t much care what you choose to do to them, but you are one of the mutt’s lapdogs.”

“I think aborning your head on a spike might send a sufficient message. Don’t you? And of course,” Big Mother put her foot down in a defensive stance hard enough to break the rock beneath her feet. “Your request was undeniably rude, and for that. I will have to punish you.”​

@Sark @AnyoneElse

THUNK!

A large chunk of metal plating suddenly goes flying off the top of the debris pile, slamming into the ground next to the so-called 'Reaper' and his ally. A blackened silhouette slowly rises from the pile; it's telltale crimson coloration and a multitude of spikes being recognizable to Big Mother as Eliphas. The Dark Apostle rolled his neck casually, eliciting a few muffled cracks from underneath his armor. He turned his helmet downwards to identify his esteemed guests.

A low and level chuckle left the helmet as he started down the scrap hill, swinging his Accursed Crozius by his side like a pendulum.

"Aah, and here I had feared I would not find a supple offering for Khorne. I don't think you've realized the mistake you've made, little man."

The Inheritor ended his march by Big Mother's side, planting his Crozius into the dirt. Arcs of violet psychic electricity danced between his fingers, a muted buzzing filling the air.

"You will not be walking away from this one."

@Sark @Jeremi @TeamStay​

"Perhaps I will let him try," Big Mother replied as Eliphas stepped up next to her. "When I rip his legs and arms off. I think that would be rather humorous to watch, wouldn't you agree, Eliphas?"

@Crunch @Sark

"The Grim Reaper?!"

IF exclaimed as she jumped up upon seeing the Reaper approach the group and her eyes were struck.

"I had only heard about you through friends and my own vivid imagination but to see you actually be real! This is going to be a challenge! Which means I better go all out!!"
"Iffy?"
"I've got this."

IF then proceeded to leap up into the air and brandished claws out of her jacket arms, slashing in a pattern towards the Reaper which would explode on impact around him. She then dropped down to the ground with one claw and caused a small explosion at the Reaper's feet. She then backed up and proceeded to slash one more time towards him.
​

"Oh, hubris? You say? Well, I think you'll find that--"

[BOOOM]

IF's attack erupted around the Reaper, showing him in flames. With a screeching twang, IF's claws met Grim's Scythe. From behind his smokey veil, he smiled. The fire around him began to twist itself into a singular stream and danced towards the tip of his blade and faded away against its mirrored face.

The Grim Reaper pushed IF's claws away from his weapon and swung his scythe about. His waved it about like a conductor, and guided the flames under his command to spiral around him.

"I've lost one limb already, Mother, and the pay off was this!"

With a push, he sent his flame spiraling forth towards Big Mother, sending her flying back across the wreck.

"Now... where were we, before I were so rudely interrupted?!"

Threw a glare in IF's direction.

"Ah... yes... I think someone said something about an offering... and then my friend here was going to stop the life out of you. Cumber?"

The Saiyan lumbered forth and cracked his neck.

"Give dear old Eliphas a kick, would you?"

@Jeremi @Raynar Saassin @Crunch​

 

[Capri]

"Do you mind?" Oren snapped, shaking off one of Roman's missiles as if it were nothing. "We're trying to have a fight here! I just want to kill this chick! You'll get your turn later!"

Distracted by Roman's attack, Oren's aim was thrown off by an inch or too. Safely tucked away inside her hole, Kolin was left relatively unharmed by the rolling ship. Her greatest injuries were bestowed upon her a handful of glass shards and shredded steel cutting that had fallen from the crushed star ship.

"C'mon! Now you're going to suffocate on me? You're no fun!" The Tuffle groaned. "You know what? I might as well put you out of your misery!"
View attachment 4572
A burning ball of ki began to form in Oren's right hand. Another appeared in his left hand. He aimed both one at Kolin and the other at Roman.

"Hope this isn't all you've got! I mean! You've got to have some fight left in you!"

The fuck is this? Roman thought, I was aiming at a ship, not a person.

“Oh SHIT!” Roman shouted as the beam of whatever aimed at him. He quickly maneuvered out of the way, trying his best to ram into the random person who was in the way of the ship that was firing at him.

@Sark @Yun Lee​

 

[Yun Lee]

Kolin could worry about the cuts dealt to her by shrapnel later. Time was rapidly running out, and she needed to breathe, fast, or it'd be all over. She could already feel herself turning blue...with not many options left, she decided to get desperate.

Jumping up out of the hole, she created a ball of snow in her hands that she tossed in the face of their adversary, hoping to buy her even just a few short seconds, before she ran to an area where she could access the ship's interior. Encasing her arms back in icy blades, she attempted to make another hole, this one getting her inside where, God willing, oxygen would await her.

@Sark @amwexia​

 

[Jeremi]

@Air Team
The Battle of Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal
"Nice try!" Kamin cried as he crossed arms shielded her from the barrage of projectiles. "But you're going to have to try harder than that if--"

[Krack!]

Brave's follow up attack caught the Tuffle off guard. His sword wasn't strong enough to slice through her skin, but the force behind the strike was enough to send Kamin soaring down toward that Hell Portal beneath her.

"Wait--what---impossib---" She yelled in confusion. Even as she shook of the pain of Brave's strike, Kamin found herself unable to strike back at the CFW. Her hand twitched and trembled as her strength of gravity well bellow her. The more she resisted, the stronger the force dragging her down seemed to grow. "No! This body was supposed to be--- damnit!"

Her stolen body had become a sinking ship. A spark of crimson leaped from her forehead and burned its way through the space between Brave and his victim. The sparked seeded to twist around itself as its flew. Slowly, it began to change into a strange, humanoid form...

View attachment 4571

"I'm---not---done---yet!"

Kamin groaned in exhaustion as her Ki fought against the pull of the Portal. Without a Tuffle Mind to pilot it, Kamin's 'old' body went limp and slipped into the abyss below. With a rebel yell, Kamin put her all into her charge, and, with a flash of indigo light, she wrapped her fingers around Brave's throat.

"If I'm going to Hell, I'm gonna take you with me!!!"

For one sweet moment, Kamin stopped fighting and let the Portal's gravitational pull take her wherever it wished. With CFW Brave in her grasp, Kamin slipped into the mouth of the Netherworld...

@Raynar Saassin​

"Do you mind?" Oren snapped, shaking off one of Roman's missiles as if it were nothing. "We're trying to have a fight here! I just want to kill this chick! You'll get your turn later!"

Distracted by Roman's attack, Oren's aim was thrown off by an inch or too. Safely tucked away inside her hole, Kolin was left relatively unharmed by the rolling ship. Her greatest injuries were bestowed upon her a handful of glass shards and shredded steel cutting that had fallen from the crushed star ship.

"C'mon! Now you're going to suffocate on me? You're no fun!" The Tuffle groaned. "You know what? I might as well put you out of your misery!"
View attachment 4572
A burning ball of ki began to form in Oren's right hand. Another appeared in his left hand. He aimed both one at Kolin and the other at Roman.

"Hope this isn't all you've got! I mean! You've got to have some fight left in you!"

@amwexia @Yun Lee​

"Oh, hubris? You say? Well, I think you'll find that--"

[BOOOM]

IF's attack erupted around the Reaper, showing him in flames. With a screeching twang, IF's claws met Grim's Scythe. From behind his smokey veil, he smiled. The fire around him began to twist itself into a singular stream and danced towards the tip of his blade and faded away against its mirrored face.

The Grim Reaper pushed IF's claws away from his weapon and swung his scythe about. His waved it about like a conductor, and guided the flames under his command to spiral around him.

"I've lost one limb already, Mother, and the pay off was this!"

With a push, he sent his flame spiraling forth towards Big Mother, sending her flying back across the wreck.

"Now... where were we, before I were so rudely interrupted?!"

Threw a glare in IF's direction.

"Ah... yes... I think someone said something about an offering... and then my friend here was going to stop the life out of you. Cumber?"

The Saiyan lumbered forth and cracked his neck.

"Give dear old Eliphas a kick, would you?"

@Jeremi @Raynar Saassin @Crunch​

Eric Williams suddenly felt an overbearing presence in front of him. "You," The massive fist of Big Mother was ready to slam down right on his head and to the ground. "Talk too much."

@Sark @Raynar Saassin @Crunch

 

[Raynar Saassin]

The Battle of Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal
"Nice try!" Kamin cried as he crossed arms shielded her from the barrage of projectiles. "But you're going to have to try harder than that if--"

[Krack!]

Brave's follow up attack caught the Tuffle off guard. His sword wasn't strong enough to slice through her skin, but the force behind the strike was enough to send Kamin soaring down toward that Hell Portal beneath her.

"Wait--what---impossib---" She yelled in confusion. Even as she shook of the pain of Brave's strike, Kamin found herself unable to strike back at the CFW. Her hand twitched and trembled as her strength of gravity well bellow her. The more she resisted, the stronger the force dragging her down seemed to grow. "No! This body was supposed to be--- damnit!"

Her stolen body had become a sinking ship. A spark of crimson leaped from her forehead and burned its way through the space between Brave and his victim. The sparked seeded to twist around itself as its flew. Slowly, it began to change into a strange, humanoid form...

View attachment 4571

"I'm---not---done---yet!"

Kamin groaned in exhaustion as her Ki fought against the pull of the Portal. Without a Tuffle Mind to pilot it, Kamin's 'old' body went limp and slipped into the abyss below. With a rebel yell, Kamin put her all into her charge, and, with a flash of indigo light, she wrapped her fingers around Brave's throat.

"If I'm going to Hell, I'm gonna take you with me!!!"

For one sweet moment, Kamin stopped fighting and let the Portal's gravitational pull take her wherever it wished. With CFW Brave in her grasp, Kamin slipped into the mouth of the Netherworld...

"Hmph. For someone who claimed to want my body, you sure don't know basic cunning, weakling."

CFW Magic mocked Kamin as they were taken off guard by CFW Brave's sneak-attack. However Brave didn't count on Kamin's grip as they were pulling them into some sort of Portal which ended up dropping them to the surface of Hell, supposedly not too far away from the Ground Team.

"Hmm. Something I did not expect them to do. No matter."

CFW Magic then proceeded towards the main battle at hand:

"Do you mind?" Oren snapped, shaking off one of Roman's missiles as if it were nothing. "We're trying to have a fight here! I just want to kill this chick! You'll get your turn later!"

Distracted by Roman's attack, Oren's aim was thrown off by an inch or too. Safely tucked away inside her hole, Kolin was left relatively unharmed by the rolling ship. Her greatest injuries were bestowed upon her a handful of glass shards and shredded steel cutting that had fallen from the crushed star ship.

"C'mon! Now you're going to suffocate on me? You're no fun!" The Tuffle groaned. "You know what? I might as well put you out of your misery!"
View attachment 4572
A burning ball of ki began to form in Oren's right hand. Another appeared in his left hand. He aimed both one at Kolin and the other at Roman.

"Hope this isn't all you've got! I mean! You've got to have some fight left in you!"

Unbeknownst to Oren, CFW Magic was charging straight towards him with her Scythe at the right, aiming to slash straight into the back of their torso!

@Sark @amwexia @Yun Lee @AirTeam

---

"Oh, hubris? You say? Well, I think you'll find that--"

[BOOOM]

IF's attack erupted around the Reaper, showing him in flames. With a screeching twang, IF's claws met Grim's Scythe. From behind his smokey veil, he smiled. The fire around him began to twist itself into a singular stream and danced towards the tip of his blade and faded away against its mirrored face.

The Grim Reaper pushed IF's claws away from his weapon and swung his scythe about. His waved it about like a conductor, and guided the flames under his command to spiral around him.

"I've lost one limb already, Mother, and the pay off was this!"

With a push, he sent his flame spiraling forth towards Big Mother, sending her flying back across the wreck.

"Now... where were we, before I were so rudely interrupted?!"

Threw a glare in IF's direction.

"!!!"
"Iffy!"
"This guy is more powerful than I thought..."
"Let me try!"

Compa then walked past IF and attacked The Grim Reaper.

"Bread Crumbs!"

Video for reference:

@Sark @amwexia @Crunch @Jeremi @GroundTeam​

 

[Crunch]

@Air Team
The Battle of Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal
"Nice try!" Kamin cried as he crossed arms shielded her from the barrage of projectiles. "But you're going to have to try harder than that if--"

[Krack!]

Brave's follow up attack caught the Tuffle off guard. His sword wasn't strong enough to slice through her skin, but the force behind the strike was enough to send Kamin soaring down toward that Hell Portal beneath her.

"Wait--what---impossib---" She yelled in confusion. Even as she shook of the pain of Brave's strike, Kamin found herself unable to strike back at the CFW. Her hand twitched and trembled as her strength of gravity well bellow her. The more she resisted, the stronger the force dragging her down seemed to grow. "No! This body was supposed to be--- damnit!"

Her stolen body had become a sinking ship. A spark of crimson leaped from her forehead and burned its way through the space between Brave and his victim. The sparked seeded to twist around itself as its flew. Slowly, it began to change into a strange, humanoid form...

View attachment 4571

"I'm---not---done---yet!"

Kamin groaned in exhaustion as her Ki fought against the pull of the Portal. Without a Tuffle Mind to pilot it, Kamin's 'old' body went limp and slipped into the abyss below. With a rebel yell, Kamin put her all into her charge, and, with a flash of indigo light, she wrapped her fingers around Brave's throat.

"If I'm going to Hell, I'm gonna take you with me!!!"

For one sweet moment, Kamin stopped fighting and let the Portal's gravitational pull take her wherever it wished. With CFW Brave in her grasp, Kamin slipped into the mouth of the Netherworld...

@Raynar Saassin


"Do you mind?" Oren snapped, shaking off one of Roman's missiles as if it were nothing. "We're trying to have a fight here! I just want to kill this chick! You'll get your turn later!"

Distracted by Roman's attack, Oren's aim was thrown off by an inch or too. Safely tucked away inside her hole, Kolin was left relatively unharmed by the rolling ship. Her greatest injuries were bestowed upon her a handful of glass shards and shredded steel cutting that had fallen from the crushed star ship.

"C'mon! Now you're going to suffocate on me? You're no fun!" The Tuffle groaned. "You know what? I might as well put you out of your misery!"
View attachment 4572
A burning ball of ki began to form in Oren's right hand. Another appeared in his left hand. He aimed both one at Kolin and the other at Roman.

"Hope this isn't all you've got! I mean! You've got to have some fight left in you!"

@amwexia @Yun Lee






"Oh, hubris? You say? Well, I think you'll find that--"

[BOOOM]

IF's attack erupted around the Reaper, showing him in flames. With a screeching twang, IF's claws met Grim's Scythe. From behind his smokey veil, he smiled. The fire around him began to twist itself into a singular stream and danced towards the tip of his blade and faded away against its mirrored face.

The Grim Reaper pushed IF's claws away from his weapon and swung his scythe about. His waved it about like a conductor, and guided the flames under his command to spiral around him.

"I've lost one limb already, Mother, and the pay off was this!"

With a push, he sent his flame spiraling forth towards Big Mother, sending her flying back across the wreck.

"Now... where were we, before I were so rudely interrupted?!"

Threw a glare in IF's direction.

"Ah... yes... I think someone said something about an offering... and then my friend here was going to stop the life out of you. Cumber?"

The Saiyan lumbered forth and cracked his neck.

"Give dear old Eliphas a kick, would you?"

@Jeremi @Raynar Saassin @Crunch

The Apostle could only laugh at the Reaper's stirring comeback. A feeble older man with a God complex - a supple offering for the Four, but too far gone to be worth the effort. His alien servant, on the other hand, appeared to be a prime specimen. The Chaos Lord was as tall and hulking as the Reaper's accompanying beast - a tower of metal and faith as opposed to a tower of flesh and anger. He ran his eyes over the encroaching Saiyan like an astute scientist, tasting the power on the wind.

"I will teach you obedience in the purest way imaginable."

Eliphas' grasp on the Accursed Crozius released; the massive weapon hit the dirt with a resounding thud. The Melta Gun on his belt was promptly tossed aside as well, clanking against the ship's debris.

The Dark Apostle raised a hand to his 'face' - his horned helmet - and grasped its underside. With a painful grunt, he forced his palm upward against the bottom of the crimson helm, removing it entirely. A chorus of creaking metal and ripping flesh - like skin being separated from the bone - soon followed, but eventually, the helm gave way, tossed behind the Inheritor with a thrust of his hand.

Eliphas' pallid, grey face grinned wide at the approaching Saiyan. A weave of scarred tissue and wrinkled, ancient flesh painted the Inheritor's grotesque visage, his cracked lips flaking past blackened, rotten teeth to form his mirthful grin. His eyes were naught, but a pair of swirling, scarlet orbs - a throbbing pain assaulted the Saiyan's head as his gaze mistakenly caught Eliphas' malicious glare.

"I could not tell you how long I have lived. I've walked the galaxy for as long as the False Emperor has spread his lies and deceit to the wallowing man-children that compose his rotten Imperium. I've surrendered my humanity to the claws that scratch at the corners of my mind, and from those insidious voices, I have learned the truth that lay behind all things. Despite all of that, I am still human, am I not? Chaos is the essence of humanity, after all."

"I can taste the hatred within this alien you've brought to me. The pride that defines his kind. That is why I will not fight him as a servant of Chaos. I won't even fight him as a Space Marine."

Eliphas' eyes met Cumber's, smiling smugly. His hand reached back and unfastened the cape on his shoulder, allowing it to fall to the ground behind himself. He was now unarmed, unhelmeted, uncaped - sealed only in his crimson shell.

"You'll be licking the foot of a human. A powerless, unarmed man."

"Come, show me what passes for fury among your misbegotten kind. Or perhaps you'd rather run away?"

The pounding on the Saiyan's head only grew in intensity - the Blood God scratching away at his brain, prodding his muscles, pumping his blood, draining away his senses. Kick the man. Spill his blood. Take his skull. You know you want to.

Eliphas only raised his arms, beckoning the alien to approach him.

@Sark @amwexia @Raynar Saassin @Jeremi @GroundTeam​

 

[Takumi]

"Yeah!" Maddie blurted, somewhat panicking.​

@The Ground Team
The Wreck of the Crusader
Eli clenched his jaw and whispered a curse to himself.
"Fine," He snapped a moment later. "We'll go. We'll take anyone who can walk."
Captain White had always known that the life of a solider would require him to make some tough calls, but not like this. He had never dreamed that he'd have to life a ship full of men to burn in Hell.
"Those who can't fight are under your protection now, Mother." Eli gave his orders without meeting the Demon's eyes. His shame prevented him from catching her eye. "If any of them wake up or some survivors come down from a higher floor... they'll be taking their orders from you. Keep them alive, would you? Dying in Hell... God only knows what that would do to your soul..."
"We can't wait any longer. We need to move."
"Yeah, Silque and Martin are right... If you can walk, follow Scott. If you can carry a wounded solider, take one. If they slow us down... we then they'll have to stay."
...
@Team Leave
The Endless Plains, Blackheart's Realm
View attachment 4559
Stepping out of the wreck of the Crusader felt like stepping into another world. It was like nothing you had ever seen before. The scorched wastelands seemed to stretch out forever. The Netherworld's surface was void of all life. No trees. No bushes. The flat, dry landscape was only broken up by a series of jagged jagged stones that curled over the Chosen's path like twisted fingers. The air was humid, hot and hard to swallow. It stank of brimstone. It was Hellish. It was Hell.

"Get back," Scott ordered, pushing his men against the wall of a nearby ditch. A demonic patrol soared over head. Their visage was just as foul as it had been at the Citadel: they were as pale, thin and blistered as they had always been, only now a pair of bat like wings carrier each unit across the bloody sky.

"Since when did Hell have a security patrols..."

"Since the Black Army started digging trenches and building anti-aircraft canons..."

"Of course... they were expecting an attack... How far out are these canons?"

"It's hard to say. About a Mile or two East of here, maybe?"

Eli set one of his men down against a nearby rock and scowled.

"We'll need you to take us there."

"No."

"No?"

"No. You don't understand what you're up against. You know nothing about the forces Blackheart has at his disposal. Marching on one of his outposts takes months of planning."

"And we don't have months. Sooner or later, the Fellowship are going to take down that warship. A fleet of star-ships is about to fly through that portal straight into that trap. Tens of Thousands of soldiers- good men, young men- are going to die unless we take out those canons. Unless we do something, that blood will be on our hands."

"And if we try to fight the Black Army now, we will all die. We need to get back to the Cave and gather the rest of the Hellions before we even think about engaging with the Black Army!"

"Ever second we waste, we're a moment closer to loosing this war! Don't you get it, Scott? Their lives matter more than ours. More than your band of hunters. More than mine. Dammit, man! We can't wait around and do nothing!"

@Takumi @Raynar Saassin @amwexia @GroundTeam
____________________________________________________​

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
As soon as the Hellions and the War Council passed over one of the large rocks in the near distance, and second thunderbolt rippled across the sky and struck the earth beside Big Mother.
View attachment 4561
"Low and behold, a wandering soul!" The Reaper cried as he emerged from the column of light. His 'assistant' followed, his arms bound by to his chest be a tight straight jacket. "And a mighty one, by the looks of things! Alas, I had expected little opposition! Just fodder for my blade! But it appears as if fate has bless you and I, aye, Cunber?"
The Beast-Man beside him simply snarled.
View attachment 4562
"Mmmmrrrghhh...."
"A man of few words, and yet so wise..." The Reaper jested. "I take it you'll want to fight the big one? And I shall be left to mow down the nameless grunts? Sounds fair to me. Now." His turned to address Big Mother directly. "Kindly step aside, so that I might be able to reap your friends and that my friend might be able to kick you? So asks.... the Grim Reaper!"

@Jeremi (undecided: @Crunch @Crow @Lucky @York )​

@Air Team
The Battle of Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal
"For Arfoire" The second woman taunted, mimicking Brave's voice. "Please. You Secularists are all the same. We've heard it all before."
Stretching out her arms, the Tuffle's power surged forth, forming an sapphire barrier around her person. Magic's aura clashed against her own, sending sparks flying across the skyline. From behind her barrier, the second woman folded her arms and laughed. "Hey, Oren! I like this one! I'm calling dibs on her body once we've crushed their fleet!"
"Whatever, Kamin! Just try to leave her in one piece, 'kay?"
View attachment 4564
A sonic-boom shook the skies as Kamin unleashed the true power of her stolen body.
"Can't make any promises, bro! We haven't had a fight like this since the Citadel! I'm gonna savor it!"
In a flash, the Tuffle lowered her shield and planted a quick sucker punch on Magic's cheek. The strength of the Super Saiyan was enough to send the CFW soaring back across the void and straight into Brave and the Droids horde.
"Come on! Where's that 'wrath' you promised me! Come on! Up and at 'em!"

@Raynar Saassin​

"Oh, come on!" Oren sulked. "That's gotta be cheating!"

[Krack-oom]

Kolin's ship was scattered to the four winds under the force of the Tuffle's attack, but, my some miracle, its true target had avoid harm. Kolin's gambit had pain off--- she slipped past the warships' shields and struck its launching deck with a crack.

[W-Hey! You're not supposed to be here!]
View attachment 4566
A droid groaned from its behind one of this launching bay's large plasma canons. The mechanical man raised its rifle and prepared to fire. But before it could fulfill its directive, its plan was cut short. A large metallic object crushed him. It was the crumbled wreck of a Fellowship star-fighter.

"Hey! I said get back here!!!"

With a roar, Oren launched himself across the battlefield, a large metallic object in his arms-- another Fellowship star fighter

He threw it across the launching bay. Steel screeched and sparks flew. The star fighter turned droids and small ships alike to pulp as it rolled across the deck to reach Kolin.

"Roman!" Zamasu's voice crackled from Roman's radio. "Focus! Kolin needs you!"

@amwexia @Yun Lee
​

"We'll be fine." He said in an attempt to reassure both Maddie and himself. As the group stopped, he watched as the demon did it's patrol with a frown, before turning his head to Scott and Eli.

"What exactly are Blackheart's forces like? We came to bring the fight to him, so any information you have could help us from here on out." He asked.

"I agree with Ashe, it wouldn't do to not know anything else about Blackheart's forces since we're here." Silque spoke up, hand going to her chin.

"You said it'd take months to plan, but have you and your group studied him and his forces movements enough to at least have an idea of their strengths and potential weaknesses while...um, stuck here?" She added.

@Sark @amwexia @Lucky @Others/Ground Team

 

[Sark]

The Apostle could only laugh at the Reaper's stirring comeback. A feeble older man with a God complex - a supple offering for the Four, but too far gone to be worth the effort. His alien servant, on the other hand, appeared to be a prime specimen. The Chaos Lord was as tall and hulking as the Reaper's accompanying beast - a tower of metal and faith as opposed to a tower of flesh and anger. He ran his eyes over the encroaching Saiyan like an astute scientist, tasting the power on the wind.

"I will teach you obedience in the purest way imaginable."

Eliphas' grasp on the Accursed Crozius released; the massive weapon hit the dirt with a resounding thud. The Melta Gun on his belt was promptly tossed aside as well, clanking against the ship's debris.

The Dark Apostle raised a hand to his 'face' - his horned helmet - and grasped its underside. With a painful grunt, he forced his palm upward against the bottom of the crimson helm, removing it entirely. A chorus of creaking metal and ripping flesh - like skin being separated from the bone - soon followed, but eventually, the helm gave way, tossed behind the Inheritor with a thrust of his hand.

Eliphas' pallid, grey face grinned wide at the approaching Saiyan. A weave of scarred tissue and wrinkled, ancient flesh painted the Inheritor's grotesque visage, his cracked lips flaking past blackened, rotten teeth to form his mirthful grin. His eyes were naught, but a pair of swirling, scarlet orbs - a throbbing pain assaulted the Saiyan's head as his gaze mistakenly caught Eliphas' malicious glare.

"I could not tell you how long I have lived. I've walked the galaxy for as long as the False Emperor has spread his lies and deceit to the wallowing man-children that compose his rotten Imperium. I've surrendered my humanity to the claws that scratch at the corners of my mind, and from those insidious voices, I have learned the truth that lay behind all things. Despite all of that, I am still human, am I not? Chaos is the essence of humanity, after all."

"I can taste the hatred within this alien you've brought to me. The pride that defines his kind. That is why I will not fight him as a servant of Chaos. I won't even fight him as a Space Marine."

Eliphas' eyes met Cumber's, smiling smugly. His hand reached back and unfastened the cape on his shoulder, allowing it to fall to the ground behind himself. He was now unarmed, unhelmeted, uncaped - sealed only in his crimson shell.

"You'll be licking the foot of a human. A powerless, unarmed man."

"Come, show me what passes for fury among your misbegotten kind. Or perhaps you'd rather run away?"

The pounding on the Saiyan's head only grew in intensity - the Blood God scratching away at his brain, prodding his muscles, pumping his blood, draining away his senses. Kick the man. Spill his blood. Take his skull. You know you want to.

Eliphas only raised his arms, beckoning the alien to approach him.

@Sark @amwexia @Raynar Saassin @Jeremi @GroundTeam​

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
"Grhhhhh....."
Cumber bowed his head and snarled. His aura began to crackle and pulse.
View attachment 4576
"Fight like a man... Fight like an animal... It doesn't matter... so long as you fight!"

The Saiyan pushed back against his restraints. His straight jacket tore against the pressure. The metal rings that bound his wrists melted away. The Reaper stumbled back. His cocky facade had been shattered.

"Cumber! What are you--"

The Saiyan ignored his 'master'.

"If you want to die like a man... I'll be happy to fulfill your wishes..."

Cunber cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. He wrapped his tail around his waist and tighten his focus.

"Hurry up and kill them, Saiyan Dog! Just transform and kill them!!"

"No... I will beat him... humiliate him... I will take his head in my hands and turn it to pulp. He will suffer until he can fight no longer. Then he dies..."

"No! We we were told to cleans the ship of its Wandering Souls! Blackheart said nothing about wasting our energy humoring Mortal Scum like--"

The Reaper couldn't spit out another word. He was too busy choking.

"You take your orders from Blackheart. I don't."

"---Hearts wouldn't want you to kill me--- he---"

"I've grown bored of you, Reaper."

[Crack]

The Reaper's body struck the wreck. He coughed, sputtered, and summon all the strength he had left. He scurried away from the Saiyan and took cover behind a sheet of fallen steel.

"The Grim Reaper is all yours..." Cunber spat. "I don't care what you do to him... so long as he doesn't distract us... It's high time someone tested the Inheritor's Mettle..."

In a flash of black and crimson, Cunber was upon Eliphas. He planted a swift sucker punch between his ribs, and followed up his first strike with a skin-splitting elbow to the back of his head.

"So me the fury of men! Fight!"

@Jeremi @Crunch @Raynar Saassin​

"Hmph. For someone who claimed to want my body, you sure don't know basic cunning, weakling."

CFW Magic mocked Kamin as they were taken off guard by CFW Brave's sneak-attack. However Brave didn't count on Kamin's grip as they were pulling them into some sort of Portal which ended up dropping them to the surface of Hell, supposedly not too far away from the Ground Team.

"Hmm. Something I did not expect them to do. No matter."

CFW Magic then proceeded towards the main battle at hand:



Unbeknownst to Oren, CFW Magic was charging straight towards him with her Scythe at the right, aiming to slash straight into the back of their torso!

@Sark @amwexia @Yun Lee @AirTeam

---

"!!!"
"Iffy!"
"This guy is more powerful than I thought..."
"Let me try!"

Compa then walked past IF and attacked The Grim Reaper.

"Bread Crumbs!"

Video for reference:

@Sark @amwexia @Crunch @Jeremi @GroundTeam​

"No! Get back, Witch! Cunber! Stop her! Stop! No--"
Distracted by the early stages of Compa's attack, Eric retreated, spitting like a cornered animal. His attention divided, he didn't sense Big Mother's presence until her fist struck his cheek. The force of he blow send his crashing back down to his knee, blood dripping from his nose and chin.

Eric abandoned all reason. Barely concious and crippled by his fear, he scurried further into the ruins like the rat we was. Despite the strength of his scythe, he flinched as Compa's attack grew nearer. The Reaper simply threw his hand before his face and screamed. The force of the blast was enough to send his stumbling and skidding across the Netherworld's red sands.

After a moment wasted twitching and coughing in the dirt, the Grim Reaper sat up, his eyes wide with fear.

"It's all gone to Hell... Damn it all!"

The Reaper searched the sands for a moment, patting down the dust. It didn't take long for him to find what he was searching for. He grabbed hold of something large and heavy and dragged it across dirty for a moment. It didn't take long for him to bite the bullet and throw he prize over his shoulder. He placed his now crooked scythe's blade to the invisible object on his shoulder and began to stumble back.

"Stay back! Stay back or I destroy it!"

He stared at Compa with the eyes of a desperate madman.

"Let me go! Don't make me do something you'll regret!"

@Raynar Saassin @Crunch @Jeremi​

"We'll be fine." He said in an attempt to reassure both Maddie and himself. As the group stopped, he watched as the demon did it's patrol with a frown, before turning his head to Scott and Eli.

"What exactly are Blackheart's forces like? We came to bring the fight to him, so any information you have could help us from here on out." He asked.

"I agree with Ashe, it wouldn't do to not know anything else about Blackheart's forces since we're here." Silque spoke up, hand going to her chin.

"You said it'd take months to plan, but have you and your group studied him and his forces movements enough to at least have an idea of their strengths and potential weaknesses while...um, stuck here?" She added.

@Sark @amwexia @Lucky @Others/Ground Team

@Team Leave
The Heart of the Wasteland
Scott barely flinched at Silque's 'stuck here' comment. He had long since accepted his fate and sucked up his sadness. He simply kept his eyes on the skies and watched as the winged demons faded into the distance.

"It's not a case of weaknesses. Demons aren't hard to 'kill'. They're dumber than a sack of hammers. They're numbers are the problem. They're outposts are crawling with the buggers. Normally, we'd watch a base for weeks and wait until its numbers wane. Their attention spans are weak. They wander towards the end of long placements, searching for food. They're not human. They have no concept of duty."

"So why not cause a diversion? Attack one base to draw their attention away from another?"

"Last time we tried that we lost 10 men. We can't endure another loss like that. Diverting that many demons is a suicide mission. Even if we could find a way to divert the demons away from these outposts and barge on in, we'd still have fight our way past Blackheart's new droids and one of 'generals'."

"What do we know about his generals?"

"Not as much as we'd like. They're all... different. Outsiders. Off-worlders. They don't share a race or belief system. They're strong. Deadly. A strong general could hold down an outpost on their own. Don't you get it?" Scott's eyes thinned into daggers. "We can't just attack an out post because your friends want us to. To save the Fellowship like this... it would kill my Hellions. It's a price I can't pay. It's I price I won't pay. I won't lose anyone else."

@amwexia @Takumi @Lucky ​

Kolin could worry about the cuts dealt to her by shrapnel later. Time was rapidly running out, and she needed to breathe, fast, or it'd be all over. She could already feel herself turning blue...with not many options left, she decided to get desperate.

Jumping up out of the hole, she created a ball of snow in her hands that she tossed in the face of their adversary, hoping to buy her even just a few short seconds, before she ran to an area where she could access the ship's interior. Encasing her arms back in icy blades, she attempted to make another hole, this one getting her inside where, God willing, oxygen would await her.

@Sark @amwexia​

The fuck is this? Roman thought, I was aiming at a ship, not a person.

“Oh SHIT!” Roman shouted as the beam of whatever aimed at him. He quickly maneuvered out of the way, trying his best to ram into the random person who was in the way of the ship that was firing at him.

@Sark @Yun Lee​

@Air Team
The Battle of the Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal

[Pppppffffff-shhhh]
​

Kolin's icy blades cut through ships outer shell and broke its air seal. A steam of cold air blasted her skin as the chamber bellow her decompressed. Oxygen filled her lungs. Her strength returned to her.

She was able to slip through the crack she had carved in the ship's amour just in time. It's emergency plugged the wound she had carved a mere moments after her body struck the steel floors of the ship's interior. Oxygen was pumped into the corridor to make up for the lost air.

"You've bought yourself 5 minutes at best!" Oren snapped, wiping the snow from his eyes. "You think this shield is gonna stop me from---?"

[CRACK!!]

Roman's ship stuck Oren's abdomen with a crack and carried his body across the surface of the ship. The strength of the unexpected attack was enough to force his from his stolen body.
View attachment 4578
"Come---on!" He spat. "That is definitely cheating!"

Oren closed his eyes tight and gritted his teeth. His body transformed into a strange silver liquid and slipped off the wing of Roman's star-fighter. His body reformed and face shifted into a scowl. He turned around to watch his attacker soar across the skies, and shoot down another enemy ship. His options had been exhausted. His stolen Saiyan body laid unconscious on the ship's deck. His sister was gone, and his warship was down a canon, thanks to his own carelessness. He wasn't about to face off against the entire Fellowship fleet alone, plus 3 of the Goddess' Chosen few.

[Vssh-ishing!]

CFW Magic's scythe cut deep into Oren's back. The pain was enough to bring him down to his knees for a moment or two, but his liquid-metal skin was already hard at work repairing the damage. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

"Three against one? Now that's just unfair... Guess I'll be seeing you around then, huh? Don't have too much fun without me..."

In a flash of silver, Oren's liquid form slipped behind Magic. The Godless warrior leaped from the deck of the warship and soared towards the Portal below.

"Oren's been defeated, sir!" A voice cracked from Roman's radio. "We've regained control of the skies!"

"Impossible." Zamasu snapped in disbelief. "The mortals... they killed him?"

"They pushed him to retreat. He's fallen back into the portal. The other Tuffle fell through too. We've pushed back two of Blackheart's generals, sir!"

"Save your self-congratulating until the war is won. Send a shuttle down to pick up Kolin. Roman, return to the Odyssey."

"And the rest of us, sir?"

"Forgot the bombing run. Keep the Vultures occupied. I've got a plan. All units: leave the path of the Odyssey. All over Warships, provide covering fire. Raise your shields."

The Odyssey's engines began to roar. It's shields shimmered with an emerald glow as it closed in on its prey.

"Full speed ahead!!"

A team of Goddessian soldier ushered Kolin into on of their drop ships. They dragged Oren's stolen body throw the ship's large steel doors and took flight, fleeing the Odyssey's warpath.

From their cockpits and windows, Roman and Kolin had front row seats to the Godless' Warship's death. With its shields raised high, the Odyssey's rammed the enemy warship and carved its way through its beating heart. The enemy's warship, now divided in two, fell into the same blazing grave as the Crusader had before it.

"Good riddance..." Zamasu growled from the Odyssey's bridge. "That ort to send a message to Blackheart..."

Without a warship to command them, the vulture droid fell from the sky, one by one. Without the Tuffles, the Battle for the Skies of Hell had been won.

"Now, onwards! Into Hell!"

@Raynar Saassin @Yun Lee @amwexia​

"Hmph. For someone who claimed to want my body, you sure don't know basic cunning, weakling."

CFW Magic mocked Kamin as they were taken off guard by CFW Brave's sneak-attack. However Brave didn't count on Kamin's grip as they were pulling them into some sort of Portal which ended up dropping them to the surface of Hell, supposedly not too far away from the Ground Team.

"Hmm. Something I did not expect them to do. No matter."
​

Brave and Kamin in Hell
"Like the view?" Kamin laughed as the pair arrived in the Netherworld. With a spinning kick, she pushed herself away from Brave and composed herself. "I mean, things could be worse. A burning red sky. Canons as far as the eye can see. A wrecked star-ship in the distance and--"

[Crack-oom]

The corpse of the Droid Warship began to fall from the heavens above them.

"---And another Elephant for this Elephant's Graveyard! It's the perfect backdrop for a fight!"

Kamin soared back down towards the earth to catch Brave mid-fall. Calling upon the advanced strength of her 'true' body, he tossed the CFW into the falling, burning wreck.

"Don't tell me you're scared, 'Brave'! Don't tell me you're giving up already!!"

@Raynar Saassin​

 

[Raynar Saassin]

[Vssh-ishing!]

CFW Magic's scythe cut deep into Oren's back. The pain was enough to bring him down to his knees for a moment or two, but his liquid-metal skin was already hard at work repairing the damage. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

"Three against one? Now that's just unfair... Guess I'll be seeing you around then, huh? Don't have too much fun without me..."

In a flash of silver, Oren's liquid form slipped behind Magic. The Godless warrior leaped from the deck of the warship and soared towards the Portal below.

"Don't think you're getting away from me. You have yet to feel her wrath."

CFW Magic then charged straight after Oren into the Portal.

Brave and Kamin in Hell
"Like the view?" Kamin laughed as the pair arrived in the Netherworld. With a spinning kick, she pushed herself away from Brave and composed herself. "I mean, things could be worse. A burning red sky. Canons as far as the eye can see. A wrecked star-ship in the distance and--"

[Crack-oom]

The corpse of the Droid Warship began to fall from the heavens above them.

"---And another Elephant for this Elephant's Graveyard! It's the perfect backdrop for a fight!"

Kamin soared back down towards the earth to catch Brave mid-fall. Calling upon the advanced strength of her 'true' body, he tossed the CFW into the falling, burning wreck.

"Don't tell me you're scared, 'Brave'! Don't tell me you're giving up already!!"

"I may not have my boss with me..."

CFW Brave exclaimed as he adjusted himself after being tossed into a flaming wreck, standing tall and proud on the ground with Kamin.

"But while I truly believe and place my faith in Arfoire to make all the boys and girls happy, then I will smite you!"

He then proceeded to charge Kamin with his Sword at the ready.

@Sark

"No! Get back, Witch! Cunber! Stop her! Stop! No--"
Distracted by the early stages of Compa's attack, Eric retreated, spitting like a cornered animal. His attention divided, he didn't sense Big Mother's presence until her fist struck his cheek. The force of he blow send his crashing back down to his knee, blood dripping from his nose and chin.

Eric abandoned all reason. Barely concious and crippled by his fear, he scurried further into the ruins like the rat we was. Despite the strength of his scythe, he flinched as Compa's attack grew nearer. The Reaper simply threw his hand before his face and screamed. The force of the blast was enough to send his stumbling and skidding across the Netherworld's red sands.

After a moment wasted twitching and coughing in the dirt, the Grim Reaper sat up, his eyes wide with fear.

"It's all gone to Hell... Damn it all!"

The Reaper searched the sands for a moment, patting down the dust. It didn't take long for him to find what he was searching for. He grabbed hold of something large and heavy and dragged it across dirty for a moment. It didn't take long for him to bite the bullet and throw he prize over his shoulder. He placed his now crooked scythe's blade to the invisible object on his shoulder and began to stumble back.

"Stay back! Stay back or I destroy it!"

He stared at Compa with the eyes of a desperate madman.

"Let me go! Don't make me do something you'll regret!"

"Mister Grim Reaper, you don't look very good..."

"You need to work much harder at your job."

Compa stated as she conjured up her Syringe and aimed it at the Reaper.

"Time for your shot, Mister Grim Reaper!"

She then fired a smaller Syringe straight towards him!

@Sark @GroundTeam​

 

[Jeremi]

"Don't think you're getting away from me. You have yet to feel her wrath."

CFW Magic then charged straight after Oren into the Portal.



"I may not have my boss with me..."

CFW Brave exclaimed as he adjusted himself after being tossed into a flaming wreck, standing tall and proud on the ground with Kamin.

"But while I truly believe and place my faith in Arfoire to make all the boys and girls happy, then I will smite you!"

He then proceeded to charge Kamin with his Sword at the ready.

@Sark



"Mister Grim Reaper, you don't look very good..."

"You need to work much harder at your job."

Compa stated as she conjured up her Syringe and aimed it at the Reaper.

"Time for your shot, Mister Grim Reaper!"

She then fired a smaller Syringe straight towards him!

@Sark @GroundTeam​

Which was deflected by none other than Big Mother! "I prefer," She turned towards Eric and started to walk calmly towards the panicking Grim Reaper. "My food to not be pumped up with drugs."

A wicked grin formed on her face as the demoness came closer. "Take away your power and what are you? A crippled man blubbering for your life...or perhaps unlife in this case." Suddenly Big Mother was over him and grabbed him with a powerful enough grip that he couldn't break free. "You were so verbose earlier so...any last words?"

@Sark @Raynar Saassin @Crunch @GroundTeam

 

[Crunch]

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
"Grhhhhh....."
Cumber bowed his head and snarled. His aura began to crackle and pulse.
View attachment 4576
"Fight like a man... Fight like an animal... It doesn't matter... so long as you fight!"

The Saiyan pushed back against his restraints. His straight jacket tore against the pressure. The metal rings that bound his wrists melted away. The Reaper stumbled back. His cocky facade had been shattered.

"Cumber! What are you--"

The Saiyan ignored his 'master'.

"If you want to die like a man... I'll be happy to fulfill your wishes..."

Cunber cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. He wrapped his tail around his waist and tighten his focus.

"Hurry up and kill them, Saiyan Dog! Just transform and kill them!!"

"No... I will beat him... humiliate him... I will take his head in my hands and turn it to pulp. He will suffer until he can fight no longer. Then he dies..."

"No! We we were told to cleans the ship of its Wandering Souls! Blackheart said nothing about wasting our energy humoring Mortal Scum like--"

The Reaper couldn't spit out another word. He was too busy choking.

"You take your orders from Blackheart. I don't."

"---Hearts wouldn't want you to kill me--- he---"

"I've grown bored of you, Reaper."

[Crack]

The Reaper's body struck the wreck. He coughed, sputtered, and summon all the strength he had left. He scurried away from the Saiyan and took cover behind a sheet of fallen steel.

"The Grim Reaper is all yours..." Cunber spat. "I don't care what you do to him... so long as he doesn't distract us... It's high time someone tested the Inheritor's Mettle..."

In a flash of black and crimson, Cunber was upon Eliphas. He planted a swift sucker punch between his ribs, and followed up his first strike with a skin-splitting elbow to the back of his head.

"So me the fury of men! Fight!"

@Jeremi @Crunch @Raynar Saassin​

"No! Get back, Witch! Cunber! Stop her! Stop! No--"
Distracted by the early stages of Compa's attack, Eric retreated, spitting like a cornered animal. His attention divided, he didn't sense Big Mother's presence until her fist struck his cheek. The force of he blow send his crashing back down to his knee, blood dripping from his nose and chin.

Eric abandoned all reason. Barely concious and crippled by his fear, he scurried further into the ruins like the rat we was. Despite the strength of his scythe, he flinched as Compa's attack grew nearer. The Reaper simply threw his hand before his face and screamed. The force of the blast was enough to send his stumbling and skidding across the Netherworld's red sands.

After a moment wasted twitching and coughing in the dirt, the Grim Reaper sat up, his eyes wide with fear.

"It's all gone to Hell... Damn it all!"

The Reaper searched the sands for a moment, patting down the dust. It didn't take long for him to find what he was searching for. He grabbed hold of something large and heavy and dragged it across dirty for a moment. It didn't take long for him to bite the bullet and throw he prize over his shoulder. He placed his now crooked scythe's blade to the invisible object on his shoulder and began to stumble back.

"Stay back! Stay back or I destroy it!"

He stared at Compa with the eyes of a desperate madman.

"Let me go! Don't make me do something you'll regret!"

@Raynar Saassin @Crunch @Jeremi​

@Team Leave
The Heart of the Wasteland
Scott barely flinched at Silque's 'stuck here' comment. He had long since accepted his fate and sucked up his sadness. He simply kept his eyes on the skies and watched as the winged demons faded into the distance.

"It's not a case of weaknesses. Demons aren't hard to 'kill'. They're dumber than a sack of hammers. They're numbers are the problem. They're outposts are crawling with the buggers. Normally, we'd watch a base for weeks and wait until its numbers wane. Their attention spans are weak. They wander towards the end of long placements, searching for food. They're not human. They have no concept of duty."

"So why not cause a diversion? Attack one base to draw their attention away from another?"

"Last time we tried that we lost 10 men. We can't endure another loss like that. Diverting that many demons is a suicide mission. Even if we could find a way to divert the demons away from these outposts and barge on in, we'd still have fight our way past Blackheart's new droids and one of 'generals'."

"What do we know about his generals?"

"Not as much as we'd like. They're all... different. Outsiders. Off-worlders. They don't share a race or belief system. They're strong. Deadly. A strong general could hold down an outpost on their own. Don't you get it?" Scott's eyes thinned into daggers. "We can't just attack an out post because your friends want us to. To save the Fellowship like this... it would kill my Hellions. It's a price I can't pay. It's I price I won't pay. I won't lose anyone else."

@amwexia @Takumi @Lucky ​

@Air Team
The Battle of the Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal

[Pppppffffff-shhhh]
​

Kolin's icy blades cut through ships outer shell and broke its air seal. A steam of cold air blasted her skin as the chamber bellow her decompressed. Oxygen filled her lungs. Her strength returned to her.

She was able to slip through the crack she had carved in the ship's amour just in time. It's emergency plugged the wound she had carved a mere moments after her body struck the steel floors of the ship's interior. Oxygen was pumped into the corridor to make up for the lost air.

"You've bought yourself 5 minutes at best!" Oren snapped, wiping the snow from his eyes. "You think this shield is gonna stop me from---?"

[CRACK!!]

Roman's ship stuck Oren's abdomen with a crack and carried his body across the surface of the ship. The strength of the unexpected attack was enough to force his from his stolen body.
View attachment 4578
"Come---on!" He spat. "That is definitely cheating!"

Oren closed his eyes tight and gritted his teeth. His body transformed into a strange silver liquid and slipped off the wing of Roman's star-fighter. His body reformed and face shifted into a scowl. He turned around to watch his attacker soar across the skies, and shoot down another enemy ship. His options had been exhausted. His stolen Saiyan body laid unconscious on the ship's deck. His sister was gone, and his warship was down a canon, thanks to his own carelessness. He wasn't about to face off against the entire Fellowship fleet alone, plus 3 of the Goddess' Chosen few.

[Vssh-ishing!]

CFW Magic's scythe cut deep into Oren's back. The pain was enough to bring him down to his knees for a moment or two, but his liquid-metal skin was already hard at work repairing the damage. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

"Three against one? Now that's just unfair... Guess I'll be seeing you around then, huh? Don't have too much fun without me..."

In a flash of silver, Oren's liquid form slipped behind Magic. The Godless warrior leaped from the deck of the warship and soared towards the Portal below.

"Oren's been defeated, sir!" A voice cracked from Roman's radio. "We've regained control of the skies!"

"Impossible." Zamasu snapped in disbelief. "The mortals... they killed him?"

"They pushed him to retreat. He's fallen back into the portal. The other Tuffle fell through too. We've pushed back two of Blackheart's generals, sir!"

"Save your self-congratulating until the war is won. Send a shuttle down to pick up Kolin. Roman, return to the Odyssey."

"And the rest of us, sir?"

"Forgot the bombing run. Keep the Vultures occupied. I've got a plan. All units: leave the path of the Odyssey. All over Warships, provide covering fire. Raise your shields."

The Odyssey's engines began to roar. It's shields shimmered with an emerald glow as it closed in on its prey.

"Full speed ahead!!"

A team of Goddessian soldier ushered Kolin into on of their drop ships. They dragged Oren's stolen body throw the ship's large steel doors and took flight, fleeing the Odyssey's warpath.

From their cockpits and windows, Roman and Kolin had front row seats to the Godless' Warship's death. With its shields raised high, the Odyssey's rammed the enemy warship and carved its way through its beating heart. The enemy's warship, now divided in two, fell into the same blazing grave as the Crusader had before it.

"Good riddance..." Zamasu growled from the Odyssey's bridge. "That ort to send a message to Blackheart..."

Without a warship to command them, the vulture droid fell from the sky, one by one. Without the Tuffles, the Battle for the Skies of Hell had been won.

"Now, onwards! Into Hell!"

@Raynar Saassin @Yun Lee @amwexia​

Brave and Kamin in Hell
"Like the view?" Kamin laughed as the pair arrived in the Netherworld. With a spinning kick, she pushed herself away from Brave and composed herself. "I mean, things could be worse. A burning red sky. Canons as far as the eye can see. A wrecked star-ship in the distance and--"

[Crack-oom]

The corpse of the Droid Warship began to fall from the heavens above them.

"---And another Elephant for this Elephant's Graveyard! It's the perfect backdrop for a fight!"

Kamin soared back down towards the earth to catch Brave mid-fall. Calling upon the advanced strength of her 'true' body, he tossed the CFW into the falling, burning wreck.

"Don't tell me you're scared, 'Brave'! Don't tell me you're giving up already!!"

@Raynar Saassin​

CLAAAANG!

Cumber's fists failed to meet their mark; one of his fists ended up being grappled by Eliphas, forcing his hand away from his abdominal armor, while his elbow strike fruitlessly deflected off of the Inheritor's armored forearm as he swiftly raised it to the side of his head. Despite all the force Cumber mustered in his arms, Eliphas held the Saiyan's fist in place, his crooked grin growing even wider at the sight of Cumber's seething anger.

Somehow, the 'powerless man' was able to perfectly match the Saiyan's unbound strength - only barely, however, as he winced at crushing force impacting with his blocking arm.

"I wonder how you ended up serving a dog like Blackheart in the first place," Eliphas grunted, forcing the Saiyan's grappled hand away from his body and sending it wide. He took a gratuitous step back, analyzing the creature's hulking mass - looking for a weak point amidst his imposing form. "You deserve a master who will teach you to turn those emotions into POWER!"

The fallen Astartes vanished into a crimson blur of his own, moving shockingly fast for how heavy his power armor looked. Appearing at Cumber's side, a clawed fist slammed into the bottom of the Saiyan's abdomen, while another was thrown to fracture his lower jaw. He followed up the strikes with a spiked knee that surged upward into Cumber's gut.

"Feel the anger in you — the touch of the Warp against your mind. With every blow, we stain the ground in His name. Rejoice, my child."

"Blood for the blood god. Skulls for the skull throne."

The words echoed in his mind. The heat in his strained muscles grew hotter, and his ragged breaths turned to loud, maddened grunts. Despite what the Inheritor claimed, the force of his blows far surpassed that of a mere human - because, for all the inhuman resilience in Cumber's hide, Eliphas' punches would hurt him.

However, the Apostle made a conscious effort to keep the raging alien alive. He'd patiently wait for the Saiyan to expose his face to him.

@Jeremi @Sark @Raynar Saassin​

 

[Capri]

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
"Grhhhhh....."
Cumber bowed his head and snarled. His aura began to crackle and pulse.
View attachment 4576
"Fight like a man... Fight like an animal... It doesn't matter... so long as you fight!"

The Saiyan pushed back against his restraints. His straight jacket tore against the pressure. The metal rings that bound his wrists melted away. The Reaper stumbled back. His cocky facade had been shattered.

"Cumber! What are you--"

The Saiyan ignored his 'master'.

"If you want to die like a man... I'll be happy to fulfill your wishes..."

Cunber cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. He wrapped his tail around his waist and tighten his focus.

"Hurry up and kill them, Saiyan Dog! Just transform and kill them!!"

"No... I will beat him... humiliate him... I will take his head in my hands and turn it to pulp. He will suffer until he can fight no longer. Then he dies..."

"No! We we were told to cleans the ship of its Wandering Souls! Blackheart said nothing about wasting our energy humoring Mortal Scum like--"

The Reaper couldn't spit out another word. He was too busy choking.

"You take your orders from Blackheart. I don't."

"---Hearts wouldn't want you to kill me--- he---"

"I've grown bored of you, Reaper."

[Crack]

The Reaper's body struck the wreck. He coughed, sputtered, and summon all the strength he had left. He scurried away from the Saiyan and took cover behind a sheet of fallen steel.

"The Grim Reaper is all yours..." Cunber spat. "I don't care what you do to him... so long as he doesn't distract us... It's high time someone tested the Inheritor's Mettle..."

In a flash of black and crimson, Cunber was upon Eliphas. He planted a swift sucker punch between his ribs, and followed up his first strike with a skin-splitting elbow to the back of his head.

"So me the fury of men! Fight!"

@Jeremi @Crunch @Raynar Saassin

"No! Get back, Witch! Cunber! Stop her! Stop! No--"
Distracted by the early stages of Compa's attack, Eric retreated, spitting like a cornered animal. His attention divided, he didn't sense Big Mother's presence until her fist struck his cheek. The force of he blow send his crashing back down to his knee, blood dripping from his nose and chin.

Eric abandoned all reason. Barely concious and crippled by his fear, he scurried further into the ruins like the rat we was. Despite the strength of his scythe, he flinched as Compa's attack grew nearer. The Reaper simply threw his hand before his face and screamed. The force of the blast was enough to send his stumbling and skidding across the Netherworld's red sands.

After a moment wasted twitching and coughing in the dirt, the Grim Reaper sat up, his eyes wide with fear.

"It's all gone to Hell... Damn it all!"

The Reaper searched the sands for a moment, patting down the dust. It didn't take long for him to find what he was searching for. He grabbed hold of something large and heavy and dragged it across dirty for a moment. It didn't take long for him to bite the bullet and throw he prize over his shoulder. He placed his now crooked scythe's blade to the invisible object on his shoulder and began to stumble back.

"Stay back! Stay back or I destroy it!"

He stared at Compa with the eyes of a desperate madman.

"Let me go! Don't make me do something you'll regret!"

@Raynar Saassin @Crunch @Jeremi

@Team Leave
The Heart of the Wasteland
Scott barely flinched at Silque's 'stuck here' comment. He had long since accepted his fate and sucked up his sadness. He simply kept his eyes on the skies and watched as the winged demons faded into the distance.

"It's not a case of weaknesses. Demons aren't hard to 'kill'. They're dumber than a sack of hammers. They're numbers are the problem. They're outposts are crawling with the buggers. Normally, we'd watch a base for weeks and wait until its numbers wane. Their attention spans are weak. They wander towards the end of long placements, searching for food. They're not human. They have no concept of duty."

"So why not cause a diversion? Attack one base to draw their attention away from another?"

"Last time we tried that we lost 10 men. We can't endure another loss like that. Diverting that many demons is a suicide mission. Even if we could find a way to divert the demons away from these outposts and barge on in, we'd still have fight our way past Blackheart's new droids and one of 'generals'."

"What do we know about his generals?"

"Not as much as we'd like. They're all... different. Outsiders. Off-worlders. They don't share a race or belief system. They're strong. Deadly. A strong general could hold down an outpost on their own. Don't you get it?" Scott's eyes thinned into daggers. "We can't just attack an out post because your friends want us to. To save the Fellowship like this... it would kill my Hellions. It's a price I can't pay. It's I price I won't pay. I won't lose anyone else."

@amwexia @Takumi @Lucky


@Air Team
The Battle of the Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal

[Pppppffffff-shhhh]

Kolin's icy blades cut through ships outer shell and broke its air seal. A steam of cold air blasted her skin as the chamber bellow her decompressed. Oxygen filled her lungs. Her strength returned to her.

She was able to slip through the crack she had carved in the ship's amour just in time. It's emergency plugged the wound she had carved a mere moments after her body struck the steel floors of the ship's interior. Oxygen was pumped into the corridor to make up for the lost air.

"You've bought yourself 5 minutes at best!" Oren snapped, wiping the snow from his eyes. "You think this shield is gonna stop me from---?"

[CRACK!!]

Roman's ship stuck Oren's abdomen with a crack and carried his body across the surface of the ship. The strength of the unexpected attack was enough to force his from his stolen body.
View attachment 4578
"Come---on!" He spat. "That is definitely cheating!"

Oren closed his eyes tight and gritted his teeth. His body transformed into a strange silver liquid and slipped off the wing of Roman's star-fighter. His body reformed and face shifted into a scowl. He turned around to watch his attacker soar across the skies, and shoot down another enemy ship. His options had been exhausted. His stolen Saiyan body laid unconscious on the ship's deck. His sister was gone, and his warship was down a canon, thanks to his own carelessness. He wasn't about to face off against the entire Fellowship fleet alone, plus 3 of the Goddess' Chosen few.

[Vssh-ishing!]

CFW Magic's scythe cut deep into Oren's back. The pain was enough to bring him down to his knees for a moment or two, but his liquid-metal skin was already hard at work repairing the damage. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

"Three against one? Now that's just unfair... Guess I'll be seeing you around then, huh? Don't have too much fun without me..."

In a flash of silver, Oren's liquid form slipped behind Magic. The Godless warrior leaped from the deck of the warship and soared towards the Portal below.

"Oren's been defeated, sir!" A voice cracked from Roman's radio. "We've regained control of the skies!"

"Impossible." Zamasu snapped in disbelief. "The mortals... they killed him?"

"They pushed him to retreat. He's fallen back into the portal. The other Tuffle fell through too. We've pushed back two of Blackheart's generals, sir!"

"Save your self-congratulating until the war is won. Send a shuttle down to pick up Kolin. Roman, return to the Odyssey."

"And the rest of us, sir?"

"Forgot the bombing run. Keep the Vultures occupied. I've got a plan. All units: leave the path of the Odyssey. All over Warships, provide covering fire. Raise your shields."

The Odyssey's engines began to roar. It's shields shimmered with an emerald glow as it closed in on its prey.

"Full speed ahead!!"

A team of Goddessian soldier ushered Kolin into on of their drop ships. They dragged Oren's stolen body throw the ship's large steel doors and took flight, fleeing the Odyssey's warpath.

From their cockpits and windows, Roman and Kolin had front row seats to the Godless' Warship's death. With its shields raised high, the Odyssey's rammed the enemy warship and carved its way through its beating heart. The enemy's warship, now divided in two, fell into the same blazing grave as the Crusader had before it.

"Good riddance..." Zamasu growled from the Odyssey's bridge. "That ort to send a message to Blackheart..."

Without a warship to command them, the vulture droid fell from the sky, one by one. Without the Tuffles, the Battle for the Skies of Hell had been won.

"Now, onwards! Into Hell!"

@Raynar Saassin @Yun Lee @amwexia

Brave and Kamin in Hell
"Like the view?" Kamin laughed as the pair arrived in the Netherworld. With a spinning kick, she pushed herself away from Brave and composed herself. "I mean, things could be worse. A burning red sky. Canons as far as the eye can see. A wrecked star-ship in the distance and--"

[Crack-oom]

The corpse of the Droid Warship began to fall from the heavens above them.

"---And another Elephant for this Elephant's Graveyard! It's the perfect backdrop for a fight!"

Kamin soared back down towards the earth to catch Brave mid-fall. Calling upon the advanced strength of her 'true' body, he tossed the CFW into the falling, burning wreck.

"Don't tell me you're scared, 'Brave'! Don't tell me you're giving up already!!"

@Raynar Saassin

Roman rushed his hands through his hair as the conversation between the commander and Zamasu happened. Holy shit! Did he just?

“Roger that sir!” Roman muttered before heading back to the Odyssey. Not before watching it crush the mothership.

@Sark @AirTeam​

 

[Lucky]

Jester Lavore

" Well.... to be fair, the demons don't exactly expect us to come here. They think our battleship fell down and that we died.... so we technically have the advantage. To be fair, I learned that strategy is often a very bad thing. When we plan things, my friends and I always get really hurt and one time, one of us died and when we go in without a plan, things usually turn out great. Improvising is a great tool. And even in Hell, I can still feel that we have help."

@Sark @amwexia @Takumi

 

[Sark]

Roman rushed his hands through his hair as the conversation between the commander and Zamasu happened. Holy shit! Did he just?

“Roger that sir!” Roman muttered before heading back to the Odyssey. Not before watching it crush the mothership.

@Sark @AirTeam​

@Air Team
The Bridge of the Odyssey,
The steel doors of the Odyssey's bridge swung open, revealing the bridge to Kolin and Roman. Standing before one of the ship's towering windows stood Zamasu. He stared into the Hell portal, his body rigid. He barely acknowledged their presence.

"All forces converge at the portal," He muttered, unflinching. "Let me know your statuses now. Once we're inside, you'll switch to psychic channels. Do you understand?"

"Received and understood, sir. Entering the portal now."
"Entering the portal now."
"Passing through."
"We're in sir we---"

"Captain?"

"Shit! We're encountering heavy opposition! They've got anti-air canons! We can't get our bombers past them! We can--- agh!!!!!"

The radio faded to static.

Zamasu sighed, his solders relaxing a little.

"It's never easy, is it?" He sighed and turned to face the air team. "We've lost track of the CFWs. We're down a warship. We're working on reaching out to our allies back at the Citadel. We've got the Sith on board. They're claim that they're eager to avenge Nox. It's more likely that they're trying to prove themselves. Their looking to take his place. But their reasons don't interest me. What matters is that they're coming..."

The kai glided across the bridge towards the Chosen. As he did so, the Odyssey began to turn and follow the Fellowship's other warships through the portal. Smoke and light danced across the Bridge's window as the ship slipped into the Nether.

"In the mean time, we still need a ground team. We're coming down near the wreck of the Crusader. There's a team waiting for you in the hangar. In the wreck, you'll need to retrieve the ship's cloaking device. It'll hide you from the demons whilst you march on the fort---"

[Crack-oom]

The moment the clouds parted, an explosive shell struck the Odyssey's shields. The force of the blast was enough the shake the ship to its core. The ship's technicians did their best to restore the ship's balance and compensate for its counter-motion.

"Set us down! We're vulnerable at this altitude!"
View attachment 4583
The ships pilots obey his commands. They rushed to their posts and punched information into their computer screens. The ship performed a series of evasive maneuvers and began to descend towards the sands of Hell. As the rocky earth grew closer, the battle bellow grew clearer. Explosions littered the skies. War machines battled large demons. Dark creatures tore their way through spider-tanks. Star-fighters completed swift drive-bys, shattering the armored shells of towering insects. Slowly but surely, the Fellowship's forces were gaining ground. But every inch came at a high price.

"We're coming up on the wreck now, sir. We're seeing--- oh god... the bodies..."

From the edge of the bridge, the Chosen could make out the mangled remains of the rest of the War Council. The ruins were still. They were completely empty. A red-suited man watched the blazing wreck from a nearby rock. He stared up at the Odyssey and laughed. He beckoning them to land with a thin, bony finger.​

@Yun Lee @amwexia​

"Don't think you're getting away from me. You have yet to feel her wrath."

CFW Magic then charged straight after Oren into the Portal.



"I may not have my boss with me..."

CFW Brave exclaimed as he adjusted himself after being tossed into a flaming wreck, standing tall and proud on the ground with Kamin.

"But while I truly believe and place my faith in Arfoire to make all the boys and girls happy, then I will smite you!"

He then proceeded to charge Kamin with his Sword at the ready.​

The CFWs and the Tuffles in Hell
[KLANG]

Brave's blade was caught before it could connect with his prey. Kamin folder her arms and laughed.

"You took your time, bro."

Oren smiled. He gripped CFW's blade tightly with one hand and charged up a Ki blast with the other. His sister followed his example and formed a ki-ball of her own.
View attachment 4580
[Boom]

The two raging energy spheres- one blue and one pink- struck the CFW and send Brave skidding back across the sand. Kamin caught his sword before it hit the ground.

"What can I say? I wanted to savor the fight with the fleet..."

"You lost, didn't you?"

"I did not!"

"Then where's your Saiyan body?"

"Okay, fine. I was caught off guard..."

"Aw, you poor thing..."

"You know what? Let's just fuse already."

"Already?"

"Look. We've got another CFW heading our way. The Odyssey will be down here any minute. We might as well give it something to shoot at..."

"Eh, I'm down." Kamin laughed.

[Click!]

The Tuffle's palms collided. Purple light flooded the clearing. Sand and filth was whipped up into the air as the pair's powers combined. Thunder crackled in the distance. With a hissing screech, Kaminoren emerged from the smoke.

View attachment 4581
"Be honest with us--- how do we look?" Kaminoren laughed. "We're the last thing you two are gonna see, so we hope we look alright. Now... which of you two kids wants to die first?"​

@Raynar Saassin​

CLAAAANG!

Cumber's fists failed to meet their mark; one of his fists ended up being grappled by Eliphas, forcing his hand away from his abdominal armor, while his elbow strike fruitlessly deflected off of the Inheritor's armored forearm as he swiftly raised it to the side of his head. Despite all the force Cumber mustered in his arms, Eliphas held the Saiyan's fist in place, his crooked grin growing even wider at the sight of Cumber's seething anger.

Somehow, the 'powerless man' was able to perfectly match the Saiyan's unbound strength - only barely, however, as he winced at crushing force impacting with his blocking arm.

"I wonder how you ended up serving a dog like Blackheart in the first place," Eliphas grunted, forcing the Saiyan's grappled hand away from his body and sending it wide. He took a gratuitous step back, analyzing the creature's hulking mass - looking for a weak point amidst his imposing form. "You deserve a master who will teach you to turn those emotions into POWER!"

The fallen Astartes vanished into a crimson blur of his own, moving shockingly fast for how heavy his power armor looked. Appearing at Cumber's side, a clawed fist slammed into the bottom of the Saiyan's abdomen, while another was thrown to fracture his lower jaw. He followed up the strikes with a spiked knee that surged upward into Cumber's gut.

"Feel the anger in you — the touch of the Warp against your mind. With every blow, we stain the ground in His name. Rejoice, my child."

"Blood for the blood god. Skulls for the skull throne."

The words echoed in his mind. The heat in his strained muscles grew hotter, and his ragged breaths turned to loud, maddened grunts. Despite what the Inheritor claimed, the force of his blows far surpassed that of a mere human - because, for all the inhuman resilience in Cumber's hide, Eliphas' punches would hurt him.

However, the Apostle made a conscious effort to keep the raging alien alive. He'd patiently wait for the Saiyan to expose his face to him.

@Jeremi @Sark @Raynar Saassin​

@Ground Team
The Wreck of the Crusader
Every strike Eliphas unleashed added fuel to Cunber's burning fury. Every pounding punch and ever flying knee filled his body with a rising tension. Eliphas was bounding against a dam, and he the Saiyan was about to burst. As Eliphas' uppercut shattered Cunber's jaw, the Saiyans arms closed in around around the sides of the Inheritor's head. Propelled by fury, Cuber's head came bounding back down against the Eliphas'. He headbutted him again. And again. And again. He didn't flinch. His pain propelled his fury to new heights.

View attachment 4584
Streams of gold began to course through his hair. His power rose once again. His shivered with anticipation.
"I'm no Dog!" The Saiyan grunted. He drew back his fists and leaped into the air, ready to shatter Eliphas' guard with a weighting punch. "I a slave to no man!"

His strike connected. He came down like a hammer striking an anvil.

"I'm not Blackheart's! I'm not yours!"

@Crunch​

Jester Lavore

" Well.... to be fair, the demons don't exactly expect us to come here. They think our battleship fell down and that we died.... so we technically have the advantage. To be fair, I learned that strategy is often a very bad thing. When we plan things, my friends and I always get really hurt and one time, one of us died and when we go in without a plan, things usually turn out great. Improvising is a great tool. And even in Hell, I can still feel that we have help."

@Sark @amwexia @Takumi

@Team Leave
The Heart of the WASTELAND
"Jester's right," Eli cried as he took a rifle from one of his wounded men. "We need to improvise. We need to think on our feet and keep the Black Army of their guard, and---"

The clouds parted as the Droid Warship slipped through the portal, its tattered corps leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. A moment later, the Fellowship's fleet entered the fray, narrowly avoiding a flurry of blasts from one of the Black Army's might canons.

"There's our distraction!" Eli grinned as he ran clambered to the top of a nearby rock to get a better view of the battle. "Now's our chance."

"My answer hasn't changed, Eli." Scott muttered. "I'm sorry. But I'm not risking my men."

"Then we'll go alone." Eli snapped with conviction. "There might not be many of us, but we'll be a smaller target should things go wrong. Take the wounded. Get them back to your cave. Hide with them. Cower. Those who want to save lives, come with us. We're going to give them hell..."

***
The Crew of the Crusader approached the outpost from a nearby cliff-face, giving them ample time to scout out the facility.

Though the distant Battle for Hell had drawn out a fraction of the it's staff, outpost was still heavily guarded. The facility's canons had kept the Fellowship at bay, and thus the Outpost's thin, electrified fence remained undamaged. A fence was being powered by an small generator inside the facility. If someone could take out the generator, the fence could easily be cut by a knife or arrow.

The Outpost's main gate was guarded by two... Sith Apprentices? They raised their Lightsabre pikes over their shoulders and eagerly watched the distant fighting. The outpost also had a small, back entrance. This was entrance was 'guarded' by a small pack of demons. It was also heavily padlocked, and, at a glance, it appeared as if none of the demons held the key. Both entrances were also also in the line of sight of two tall watchman's towers.

"How do you want to handle this, Councillors?" Eli asked. "We've got about 12 able bodies men at our disposal, not including ourselves. They'll follow our orders without question, and fight with everything they've got. Say the word, and they'll stand to attention. The way I see it, all we need to do is catch and hold a single outpost. Once we have one, we can turn this outposts anti-air canon against the other outposts. We'll clear a path for out Warships and Bombers. We'll be able to get the attention of a shuttle or two. Once we're inside, things should be easy... the question is.. how?"

@Lucky @Takumi @amwexia

​

"You need to work much harder at your job."

Compa stated as she conjured up her Syringe and aimed it at the Reaper.

"Time for your shot, Mister Grim Reaper!"

She then fired a smaller Syringe straight towards him!

@Sark @GroundTeam​

Which was deflected by none other than Big Mother! "I prefer," She turned towards Eric and started to walk calmly towards the panicking Grim Reaper. "My food to not be pumped up with drugs."

A wicked grin formed on her face as the demoness came closer. "Take away your power and what are you? A crippled man blubbering for your life...or perhaps unlife in this case." Suddenly Big Mother was over him and grabbed him with a powerful enough grip that he couldn't break free. "You were so verbose earlier so...any last words?"

@Sark @Raynar Saassin @Crunch @GroundTeam

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
"I warned you!" Eric snapped as Compa launched her syringe. He's eyes widened a little more as Big Mother deflected Compa's attack- it had brought him another moment or two. He plunged his blade deep into the invisible object in his arms. A stream of blood began to spray into the air.

He dropped his prize as Big Mother raised him over his head. No matter how tight her grip grew, the gleeful look on his face didn't waver. He laughed maniacally.
"Food? Wait... Food? Oh... Oh.... You don't don't know? You know what? One final word comes to mind-- Look!"

He reached out to Mother's face with his free hand and turned it towards the growing pool of blood on the dirt beneath them.

The Mother's vision began to blur. White spots began to fill her eyes. Her senses were adapting to something. The invisible object the Grim Reaper had stabbed was starting to take shape.

It was the bleeding body of... Compa?

"I understand your confusion. This must be quite a shock... but look closer..."

Eric turned her face once again. He directed her eyes back to the wreck of the Crusader.

"Look at all those bodies. Ashe's. Eliphas'. Yours!" He giggled. "This is no trick, Mother! Think about it. Think about it nice and hard. Nobody survives a crash like that. No one!"

The Grim Reaper spoke the truth. Amidst the blood and the fire, the battered and broken bodies of the Goddess' Chosen sat, mangled. The only body that missing was Captain White's.

"You see, the spirit doesn't process trauma the same way the body does. Sometimes, the spirit refuses to pass on to where its meant to be. It sticks about. It forgets its 'death' and creates a 'body' through which it can wander. A phantom. Blackheart through the crash might have left a phantom or two. It's why he sent me here- to reap! To collect what he is owed! To capture or obliterate your Phantoms! "

STATUS: Ashe// Deceased!
STATUS: Beauregard Lionette// Deceased!
STATUS: Big Mother// Deceased!
STATUS: Compa// Deceased!
STATUS: Dinasadhaka Vipatti// Deceased!
STATUS: Dukemon// Deceased!
STATUS: Eliphas the Inheritor// Deceased!
STATUS: IF// Deceased!
STATUS: Jester Lavorre// Deceased!
STATUS: Kuro Kyoka// Deceased!
STATUS: Maddison Palmer// Deceased!
STATUS: Omnimon// Deceased!
STATUS: Rory Mercury// Deceased!
STATUS: Silque// Deceased!

"Not quite as fun the second time around, is it? There's no Goddess to rescue you this time! You having a breakdown yet? Has existential terror consumed you, yet? No? Well..."

[CRACK-OOM]

The sky erupted with fire. The wreck of the Droid Warship slipped through the portal. The Odyssey followed it, its canons blazing.

"Guess there's no use in fighting it now, is there? The wait I see it, I'm dead either way. I don't need a body watch your little empire fall apart. My phantom can do that form the safety of Blackheart's fort. Enjoy your wandering, my spirits. Enjoy your eternal damnation!"

The Reaper Plunged his scythe deep in his collar. With a cough and a whimper, the little life that remained in the Reaper's eyes began to fade. His body went limp. A moment later, it faded from Mother's hand. He left no trace behind.

STATUS: Eric Williams// Deceased!

As soon as the Reaper vanished, the wound he had inflicted upon Compa's body ignited. Within seconds, her body had been totally consumed by flames. Its ashes were scattered by the wind.

Without a body, Compa's hopes of resurrection had been dashed.

Overhead, the Odyssey slowly came into land. But the figures that stood upon its bridge seemed to stare right through them. It was as if the Ground Team could no longer be seen by the living.

In the distance, the Chosen could make see a Crimson-suited man watching them. He was... laughing...

@Jeremi @Crunch @Raynar Saassin​

 

[Jeremi]

@Air Team
The Bridge of the Odyssey,
The steel doors of the Odyssey's bridge swung open, revealing the bridge to Kolin and Roman. Standing before one of the ship's towering windows stood Zamasu. He stared into the Hell portal, his body rigid. He barely acknowledged their presence.

"All forces converge at the portal," He muttered, unflinching. "Let me know your statuses now. Once we're inside, you'll switch to psychic channels. Do you understand?"

"Received and understood, sir. Entering the portal now."
"Entering the portal now."
"Passing through."
"We're in sir we---"

"Captain?"

"Shit! We're encountering heavy opposition! They've got anti-air canons! We can't get our bombers past them! We can--- agh!!!!!"

The radio faded to static.

Zamasu sighed, his solders relaxing a little.

"It's never easy, is it?" He sighed and turned to face the air team. "We've lost track of the CFWs. We're down a warship. We're working on reaching out to our allies back at the Citadel. We've got the Sith on board. They're claim that they're eager to avenge Nox. It's more likely that they're trying to prove themselves. Their looking to take his place. But their reasons don't interest me. What matters is that they're coming..."

The kai glided across the bridge towards the Chosen. As he did so, the Odyssey began to turn and follow the Fellowship's other warships through the portal. Smoke and light danced across the Bridge's window as the ship slipped into the Nether.

"In the mean time, we still need a ground team. We're coming down near the wreck of the Crusader. There's a team waiting for you in the hangar. In the wreck, you'll need to retrieve the ship's cloaking device. It'll hide you from the demons whilst you march on the fort---"

[Crack-oom]

The moment the clouds parted, an explosive shell struck the Odyssey's shields. The force of the blast was enough the shake the ship to its core. The ship's technicians did their best to restore the ship's balance and compensate for its counter-motion.

"Set us down! We're vulnerable at this altitude!"
View attachment 4583
The ships pilots obey his commands. They rushed to their posts and punched information into their computer screens. The ship performed a series of evasive maneuvers and began to descend towards the sands of Hell. As the rocky earth grew closer, the battle bellow grew clearer. Explosions littered the skies. War machines battled large demons. Dark creatures tore their way through spider-tanks. Star-fighters completed swift drive-bys, shattering the armored shells of towering insects. Slowly but surely, the Fellowship's forces were gaining ground. But every inch came at a high price.

"We're coming up on the wreck now, sir. We're seeing--- oh god... the bodies..."

From the edge of the bridge, the Chosen could make out the mangled remains of the rest of the War Council. The ruins were still. They were completely empty. A red-suited man watched the blazing wreck from a nearby rock. He stared up at the Odyssey and laughed. He beckoning them to land with a thin, bony finger.​

@Yun Lee @amwexia​

The CFWs and the Tuffles in Hell
[KLANG]

Brave's blade was caught before it could connect with his prey. Kamin folder her arms and laughed.

"You took your time, bro."

Oren smiled. He gripped CFW's blade tightly with one hand and charged up a Ki blast with the other. His sister followed his example and formed a ki-ball of her own.
View attachment 4580
[Boom]

The two raging energy spheres- one blue and one pink- struck the CFW and send Brave skidding back across the sand. Kamin caught his sword before it hit the ground.

"What can I say? I wanted to savor the fight with the fleet..."

"You lost, didn't you?"

"I did not!"

"Then where's your Saiyan body?"

"Okay, fine. I was caught off guard..."

"Aw, you poor thing..."

"You know what? Let's just fuse already."

"Already?"

"Look. We've got another CFW heading our way. The Odyssey will be down here any minute. We might as well give it something to shoot at..."

"Eh, I'm down." Kamin laughed.

[Click!]

The Tuffle's palms collided. Purple light flooded the clearing. Sand and filth was whipped up into the air as the pair's powers combined. Thunder crackled in the distance. With a hissing screech, Kaminoren emerged from the smoke.

View attachment 4581
"Be honest with us--- how do we look?" Kaminoren laughed. "We're the last thing you two are gonna see, so we hope we look alright. Now... which of you two kids wants to die first?"​

@Raynar Saassin​

@Ground Team
The Wreck of the Crusader
Every strike Eliphas unleashed added fuel to Cunber's burning fury. Every pounding punch and ever flying knee filled his body with a rising tension. Eliphas was bounding against a dam, and he the Saiyan was about to burst. As Eliphas' uppercut shattered Cunber's jaw, the Saiyans arms closed in around around the sides of the Inheritor's head. Propelled by fury, Cuber's head came bounding back down against the Eliphas'. He headbutted him again. And again. And again. He didn't flinch. His pain propelled his fury to new heights.

View attachment 4584
Streams of gold began to course through his hair. His power rose once again. His shivered with anticipation.
"I'm no Dog!" The Saiyan grunted. He drew back his fists and leaped into the air, ready to shatter Eliphas' guard with a weighting punch. "I a slave to no man!"

His strike connected. He came down like a hammer striking an anvil.

"I'm not Blackheart's! I'm not yours!"

@Crunch​

@Team Leave
The Heart of the WASTELAND
"Jester's right," Eli cried as he took a rifle from one of his wounded men. "We need to improvise. We need to think on our feet and keep the Black Army of their guard, and---"

The clouds parted as the Droid Warship slipped through the portal, its tattered corps leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. A moment later, the Fellowship's fleet entered the fray, narrowly avoiding a flurry of blasts from one of the Black Army's might canons.

"There's our distraction!" Eli grinned as he ran clambered to the top of a nearby rock to get a better view of the battle. "Now's our chance."

"My answer hasn't changed, Eli." Scott muttered. "I'm sorry. But I'm not risking my men."

"Then we'll go alone." Eli snapped with conviction. "There might not be many of us, but we'll be a smaller target should things go wrong. Take the wounded. Get them back to your cave. Hide with them. Cower. Those who want to save lives, come with us. We're going to give them hell..."

***
The Crew of the Crusader approached the outpost from a nearby cliff-face, giving them ample time to scout out the facility.

Though the distant Battle for Hell had drawn out a fraction of the it's staff, outpost was still heavily guarded. The facility's canons had kept the Fellowship at bay, and thus the Outpost's thin, electrified fence remained undamaged. A fence was being powered by an small generator inside the facility. If someone could take out the generator, the fence could easily be cut by a knife or arrow.

The Outpost's main gate was guarded by two... Sith Apprentices? They raised their Lightsabre pikes over their shoulders and eagerly watched the distant fighting. The outpost also had a small, back entrance. This was entrance was 'guarded' by a small pack of demons. It was also heavily padlocked, and, at a glance, it appeared as if none of the demons held the key. Both entrances were also also in the line of sight of two tall watchman's towers.

"How do you want to handle this, Councillors?" Eli asked. "We've got about 12 able bodies men at our disposal, not including ourselves. They'll follow our orders without question, and fight with everything they've got. Say the word, and they'll stand to attention. The way I see it, all we need to do is catch and hold a single outpost. Once we have one, we can turn this outposts anti-air canon against the other outposts. We'll clear a path for out Warships and Bombers. We'll be able to get the attention of a shuttle or two. Once we're inside, things should be easy... the question is.. how?"

@Lucky @Takumi @amwexia

​

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
"I warned you!" Eric snapped as Compa launched her syringe. He's eyes widened a little more as Big Mother deflected Compa's attack- it had brought him another moment or two. He plunged his blade deep into the invisible object in his arms. A stream of blood began to spray into the air.

He dropped his prize as Big Mother raised him over his head. No matter how tight her grip grew, the gleeful look on his face didn't waver. He laughed maniacally.
"Food? Wait... Food? Oh... Oh.... You don't don't know? You know what? One final word comes to mind-- Look!"

He reached out to Mother's face with his free hand and turned it towards the growing pool of blood on the dirt beneath them.

The Mother's vision began to blur. White spots began to fill her eyes. Her senses were adapting to something. The invisible object the Grim Reaper had stabbed was starting to take shape.

It was the bleeding body of... Compa?

"I understand your confusion. This must be quite a shock... but look closer..."

Eric turned her face once again. He directed her eyes back to the wreck of the Crusader.

"Look at all those bodies. Ashe's. Eliphas'. Yours!" He giggled. "This is no trick, Mother! Think about it. Think about it nice and hard. Nobody survives a crash like that. No one!"

The Grim Reaper spoke the truth. Amidst the blood and the fire, the battered and broken bodies of the Goddess' Chosen sat, mangled. The only body that missing was Captain White's.

"You see, the spirit doesn't process trauma the same way the body does. Sometimes, the spirit refuses to pass on to where its meant to be. It sticks about. It forgets its 'death' and creates a 'body' through which it can wander. A phantom. Blackheart through the crash might have left a phantom or two. It's why he sent me here- to reap! To collect what he is owed! To capture or obliterate your Phantoms! "

STATUS: Ashe// Deceased!
STATUS: Beauregard Lionette// Deceased!
STATUS: Big Mother// Deceased!
STATUS: Compa// Deceased!
STATUS: Dinasadhaka Vipatti// Deceased!
STATUS: Dukemon// Deceased!
STATUS: Eliphas the Inheritor// Deceased!
STATUS: IF// Deceased!
STATUS: Jester Lavorre// Deceased!
STATUS: Kuro Kyoka// Deceased!
STATUS: Maddison Palmer// Deceased!
STATUS: Omnimon// Deceased!
STATUS: Rory Mercury// Deceased!
STATUS: Silque// Deceased!

"Not quite as fun the second time around, is it? There's no Goddess to rescue you this time! You having a breakdown yet? Has existential terror consumed you, yet? No? Well..."

[CRACK-OOM]

The sky erupted with fire. The wreck of the Droid Warship slipped through the portal. The Odyssey followed it, its canons blazing.

"Guess there's no use in fighting it now, is there? The wait I see it, I'm dead either way. I don't need a body watch your little empire fall apart. My phantom can do that form the safety of Blackheart's fort. Enjoy your wandering, my spirits. Enjoy your eternal damnation!"

The Reaper Plunged his scythe deep in his collar. With a cough and a whimper, the little life that remained in the Reaper's eyes began to fade. His body went limp. A moment later, it faded from Mother's hand. He left no trace behind.

STATUS: Eric Williams// Deceased!

As soon as the Reaper vanished, the wound he had inflicted upon Compa's body ignited. Within seconds, her body had been totally consumed by flames. Its ashes were scattered by the wind.

Without a body, Compa's hopes of resurrection had been dashed.

Overhead, the Odyssey slowly came into land. But the figures that stood upon its bridge seemed to stare right through them. It was as if the Ground Team could no longer be seen by the living.

In the distance, the Chosen could make see a Crimson-suited man watching them. He was... laughing...

@Jeremi @Crunch @Raynar Saassin​

Once again meat had escaped from her grasp. She just watched on with a deadpan look as the Grim Reaper slayed himself in front of her. Finally as the living forces walked among she spoke. "The human really enjoyed hearing himself speak." Looking towards the crimson suit man, Big Mother couldn't help but grimace.

"It seems like one way or another...I will be in debt once more before this is all over." Having said that she started making her way towards the figure, though she was quite certain she knew who it was...

And that did not make the grimace on her face disappear any quicker.

@Sark @Crunch @Raynar Saassin

 

[Yun Lee]

So...they had all perished. Kolin felt her stomach drop, tearing her eyes from the corpses. She couldn't bear to look at them. All she could do was press on.

Did that mean that he had perished, as well? To think, he had not only been here the entire time, but had been part of the High Council...and she hadn't even known. And now there was a high probability that he had become an early casualty of this war. Would her emperor mourn the loss? She certainly wouldn't. There was no love lost in the burning wreckage.

"If needed, I can put out the fires," she said, looking at the man. "I don't trust any beings in this place. Our focus must remain on that cloaking device...and our mission."

@Sark @amwexia​

 

[Takumi]

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
"Grhhhhh....."
Cumber bowed his head and snarled. His aura began to crackle and pulse.
View attachment 4576
"Fight like a man... Fight like an animal... It doesn't matter... so long as you fight!"

The Saiyan pushed back against his restraints. His straight jacket tore against the pressure. The metal rings that bound his wrists melted away. The Reaper stumbled back. His cocky facade had been shattered.

"Cumber! What are you--"

The Saiyan ignored his 'master'.

"If you want to die like a man... I'll be happy to fulfill your wishes..."

Cunber cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. He wrapped his tail around his waist and tighten his focus.

"Hurry up and kill them, Saiyan Dog! Just transform and kill them!!"

"No... I will beat him... humiliate him... I will take his head in my hands and turn it to pulp. He will suffer until he can fight no longer. Then he dies..."

"No! We we were told to cleans the ship of its Wandering Souls! Blackheart said nothing about wasting our energy humoring Mortal Scum like--"

The Reaper couldn't spit out another word. He was too busy choking.

"You take your orders from Blackheart. I don't."

"---Hearts wouldn't want you to kill me--- he---"

"I've grown bored of you, Reaper."

[Crack]

The Reaper's body struck the wreck. He coughed, sputtered, and summon all the strength he had left. He scurried away from the Saiyan and took cover behind a sheet of fallen steel.

"The Grim Reaper is all yours..." Cunber spat. "I don't care what you do to him... so long as he doesn't distract us... It's high time someone tested the Inheritor's Mettle..."

In a flash of black and crimson, Cunber was upon Eliphas. He planted a swift sucker punch between his ribs, and followed up his first strike with a skin-splitting elbow to the back of his head.

"So me the fury of men! Fight!"

@Jeremi @Crunch @Raynar Saassin​

"No! Get back, Witch! Cunber! Stop her! Stop! No--"
Distracted by the early stages of Compa's attack, Eric retreated, spitting like a cornered animal. His attention divided, he didn't sense Big Mother's presence until her fist struck his cheek. The force of he blow send his crashing back down to his knee, blood dripping from his nose and chin.

Eric abandoned all reason. Barely concious and crippled by his fear, he scurried further into the ruins like the rat we was. Despite the strength of his scythe, he flinched as Compa's attack grew nearer. The Reaper simply threw his hand before his face and screamed. The force of the blast was enough to send his stumbling and skidding across the Netherworld's red sands.

After a moment wasted twitching and coughing in the dirt, the Grim Reaper sat up, his eyes wide with fear.

"It's all gone to Hell... Damn it all!"

The Reaper searched the sands for a moment, patting down the dust. It didn't take long for him to find what he was searching for. He grabbed hold of something large and heavy and dragged it across dirty for a moment. It didn't take long for him to bite the bullet and throw he prize over his shoulder. He placed his now crooked scythe's blade to the invisible object on his shoulder and began to stumble back.

"Stay back! Stay back or I destroy it!"

He stared at Compa with the eyes of a desperate madman.

"Let me go! Don't make me do something you'll regret!"

@Raynar Saassin @Crunch @Jeremi​

@Team Leave
The Heart of the Wasteland
Scott barely flinched at Silque's 'stuck here' comment. He had long since accepted his fate and sucked up his sadness. He simply kept his eyes on the skies and watched as the winged demons faded into the distance.

"It's not a case of weaknesses. Demons aren't hard to 'kill'. They're dumber than a sack of hammers. They're numbers are the problem. They're outposts are crawling with the buggers. Normally, we'd watch a base for weeks and wait until its numbers wane. Their attention spans are weak. They wander towards the end of long placements, searching for food. They're not human. They have no concept of duty."

"So why not cause a diversion? Attack one base to draw their attention away from another?"

"Last time we tried that we lost 10 men. We can't endure another loss like that. Diverting that many demons is a suicide mission. Even if we could find a way to divert the demons away from these outposts and barge on in, we'd still have fight our way past Blackheart's new droids and one of 'generals'."

"What do we know about his generals?"

"Not as much as we'd like. They're all... different. Outsiders. Off-worlders. They don't share a race or belief system. They're strong. Deadly. A strong general could hold down an outpost on their own. Don't you get it?" Scott's eyes thinned into daggers. "We can't just attack an out post because your friends want us to. To save the Fellowship like this... it would kill my Hellions. It's a price I can't pay. It's I price I won't pay. I won't lose anyone else."

@amwexia @Takumi @Lucky ​

@Air Team
The Battle of the Odyssey, Above the Hell Portal

[Pppppffffff-shhhh]
​

Kolin's icy blades cut through ships outer shell and broke its air seal. A steam of cold air blasted her skin as the chamber bellow her decompressed. Oxygen filled her lungs. Her strength returned to her.

She was able to slip through the crack she had carved in the ship's amour just in time. It's emergency plugged the wound she had carved a mere moments after her body struck the steel floors of the ship's interior. Oxygen was pumped into the corridor to make up for the lost air.

"You've bought yourself 5 minutes at best!" Oren snapped, wiping the snow from his eyes. "You think this shield is gonna stop me from---?"

[CRACK!!]

Roman's ship stuck Oren's abdomen with a crack and carried his body across the surface of the ship. The strength of the unexpected attack was enough to force his from his stolen body.
View attachment 4578
"Come---on!" He spat. "That is definitely cheating!"

Oren closed his eyes tight and gritted his teeth. His body transformed into a strange silver liquid and slipped off the wing of Roman's star-fighter. His body reformed and face shifted into a scowl. He turned around to watch his attacker soar across the skies, and shoot down another enemy ship. His options had been exhausted. His stolen Saiyan body laid unconscious on the ship's deck. His sister was gone, and his warship was down a canon, thanks to his own carelessness. He wasn't about to face off against the entire Fellowship fleet alone, plus 3 of the Goddess' Chosen few.

[Vssh-ishing!]

CFW Magic's scythe cut deep into Oren's back. The pain was enough to bring him down to his knees for a moment or two, but his liquid-metal skin was already hard at work repairing the damage. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

"Three against one? Now that's just unfair... Guess I'll be seeing you around then, huh? Don't have too much fun without me..."

In a flash of silver, Oren's liquid form slipped behind Magic. The Godless warrior leaped from the deck of the warship and soared towards the Portal below.

"Oren's been defeated, sir!" A voice cracked from Roman's radio. "We've regained control of the skies!"

"Impossible." Zamasu snapped in disbelief. "The mortals... they killed him?"

"They pushed him to retreat. He's fallen back into the portal. The other Tuffle fell through too. We've pushed back two of Blackheart's generals, sir!"

"Save your self-congratulating until the war is won. Send a shuttle down to pick up Kolin. Roman, return to the Odyssey."

"And the rest of us, sir?"

"Forgot the bombing run. Keep the Vultures occupied. I've got a plan. All units: leave the path of the Odyssey. All over Warships, provide covering fire. Raise your shields."

The Odyssey's engines began to roar. It's shields shimmered with an emerald glow as it closed in on its prey.

"Full speed ahead!!"

A team of Goddessian soldier ushered Kolin into on of their drop ships. They dragged Oren's stolen body throw the ship's large steel doors and took flight, fleeing the Odyssey's warpath.

From their cockpits and windows, Roman and Kolin had front row seats to the Godless' Warship's death. With its shields raised high, the Odyssey's rammed the enemy warship and carved its way through its beating heart. The enemy's warship, now divided in two, fell into the same blazing grave as the Crusader had before it.

"Good riddance..." Zamasu growled from the Odyssey's bridge. "That ort to send a message to Blackheart..."

Without a warship to command them, the vulture droid fell from the sky, one by one. Without the Tuffles, the Battle for the Skies of Hell had been won.

"Now, onwards! Into Hell!"

@Raynar Saassin @Yun Lee @amwexia​

Brave and Kamin in Hell
"Like the view?" Kamin laughed as the pair arrived in the Netherworld. With a spinning kick, she pushed herself away from Brave and composed herself. "I mean, things could be worse. A burning red sky. Canons as far as the eye can see. A wrecked star-ship in the distance and--"

[Crack-oom]

The corpse of the Droid Warship began to fall from the heavens above them.

"---And another Elephant for this Elephant's Graveyard! It's the perfect backdrop for a fight!"

Kamin soared back down towards the earth to catch Brave mid-fall. Calling upon the advanced strength of her 'true' body, he tossed the CFW into the falling, burning wreck.

"Don't tell me you're scared, 'Brave'! Don't tell me you're giving up already!!"

@Raynar Saassin​

@Air Team
The Bridge of the Odyssey,
The steel doors of the Odyssey's bridge swung open, revealing the bridge to Kolin and Roman. Standing before one of the ship's towering windows stood Zamasu. He stared into the Hell portal, his body rigid. He barely acknowledged their presence.

"All forces converge at the portal," He muttered, unflinching. "Let me know your statuses now. Once we're inside, you'll switch to psychic channels. Do you understand?"

"Received and understood, sir. Entering the portal now."
"Entering the portal now."
"Passing through."
"We're in sir we---"

"Captain?"

"Shit! We're encountering heavy opposition! They've got anti-air canons! We can't get our bombers past them! We can--- agh!!!!!"

The radio faded to static.

Zamasu sighed, his solders relaxing a little.

"It's never easy, is it?" He sighed and turned to face the air team. "We've lost track of the CFWs. We're down a warship. We're working on reaching out to our allies back at the Citadel. We've got the Sith on board. They're claim that they're eager to avenge Nox. It's more likely that they're trying to prove themselves. Their looking to take his place. But their reasons don't interest me. What matters is that they're coming..."

The kai glided across the bridge towards the Chosen. As he did so, the Odyssey began to turn and follow the Fellowship's other warships through the portal. Smoke and light danced across the Bridge's window as the ship slipped into the Nether.

"In the mean time, we still need a ground team. We're coming down near the wreck of the Crusader. There's a team waiting for you in the hangar. In the wreck, you'll need to retrieve the ship's cloaking device. It'll hide you from the demons whilst you march on the fort---"

[Crack-oom]

The moment the clouds parted, an explosive shell struck the Odyssey's shields. The force of the blast was enough the shake the ship to its core. The ship's technicians did their best to restore the ship's balance and compensate for its counter-motion.

"Set us down! We're vulnerable at this altitude!"
View attachment 4583
The ships pilots obey his commands. They rushed to their posts and punched information into their computer screens. The ship performed a series of evasive maneuvers and began to descend towards the sands of Hell. As the rocky earth grew closer, the battle bellow grew clearer. Explosions littered the skies. War machines battled large demons. Dark creatures tore their way through spider-tanks. Star-fighters completed swift drive-bys, shattering the armored shells of towering insects. Slowly but surely, the Fellowship's forces were gaining ground. But every inch came at a high price.

"We're coming up on the wreck now, sir. We're seeing--- oh god... the bodies..."

From the edge of the bridge, the Chosen could make out the mangled remains of the rest of the War Council. The ruins were still. They were completely empty. A red-suited man watched the blazing wreck from a nearby rock. He stared up at the Odyssey and laughed. He beckoning them to land with a thin, bony finger.​

@Yun Lee @amwexia​

The CFWs and the Tuffles in Hell
[KLANG]

Brave's blade was caught before it could connect with his prey. Kamin folder her arms and laughed.

"You took your time, bro."

Oren smiled. He gripped CFW's blade tightly with one hand and charged up a Ki blast with the other. His sister followed his example and formed a ki-ball of her own.
View attachment 4580
[Boom]

The two raging energy spheres- one blue and one pink- struck the CFW and send Brave skidding back across the sand. Kamin caught his sword before it hit the ground.

"What can I say? I wanted to savor the fight with the fleet..."

"You lost, didn't you?"

"I did not!"

"Then where's your Saiyan body?"

"Okay, fine. I was caught off guard..."

"Aw, you poor thing..."

"You know what? Let's just fuse already."

"Already?"

"Look. We've got another CFW heading our way. The Odyssey will be down here any minute. We might as well give it something to shoot at..."

"Eh, I'm down." Kamin laughed.

[Click!]

The Tuffle's palms collided. Purple light flooded the clearing. Sand and filth was whipped up into the air as the pair's powers combined. Thunder crackled in the distance. With a hissing screech, Kaminoren emerged from the smoke.

View attachment 4581
"Be honest with us--- how do we look?" Kaminoren laughed. "We're the last thing you two are gonna see, so we hope we look alright. Now... which of you two kids wants to die first?"​

@Raynar Saassin​

@Ground Team
The Wreck of the Crusader
Every strike Eliphas unleashed added fuel to Cunber's burning fury. Every pounding punch and ever flying knee filled his body with a rising tension. Eliphas was bounding against a dam, and he the Saiyan was about to burst. As Eliphas' uppercut shattered Cunber's jaw, the Saiyans arms closed in around around the sides of the Inheritor's head. Propelled by fury, Cuber's head came bounding back down against the Eliphas'. He headbutted him again. And again. And again. He didn't flinch. His pain propelled his fury to new heights.

View attachment 4584
Streams of gold began to course through his hair. His power rose once again. His shivered with anticipation.
"I'm no Dog!" The Saiyan grunted. He drew back his fists and leaped into the air, ready to shatter Eliphas' guard with a weighting punch. "I a slave to no man!"

His strike connected. He came down like a hammer striking an anvil.

"I'm not Blackheart's! I'm not yours!"

@Crunch​

@Team Leave
The Heart of the WASTELAND
"Jester's right," Eli cried as he took a rifle from one of his wounded men. "We need to improvise. We need to think on our feet and keep the Black Army of their guard, and---"

The clouds parted as the Droid Warship slipped through the portal, its tattered corps leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. A moment later, the Fellowship's fleet entered the fray, narrowly avoiding a flurry of blasts from one of the Black Army's might canons.

"There's our distraction!" Eli grinned as he ran clambered to the top of a nearby rock to get a better view of the battle. "Now's our chance."

"My answer hasn't changed, Eli." Scott muttered. "I'm sorry. But I'm not risking my men."

"Then we'll go alone." Eli snapped with conviction. "There might not be many of us, but we'll be a smaller target should things go wrong. Take the wounded. Get them back to your cave. Hide with them. Cower. Those who want to save lives, come with us. We're going to give them hell..."

***
The Crew of the Crusader approached the outpost from a nearby cliff-face, giving them ample time to scout out the facility.

Though the distant Battle for Hell had drawn out a fraction of the it's staff, outpost was still heavily guarded. The facility's canons had kept the Fellowship at bay, and thus the Outpost's thin, electrified fence remained undamaged. A fence was being powered by an small generator inside the facility. If someone could take out the generator, the fence could easily be cut by a knife or arrow.

The Outpost's main gate was guarded by two... Sith Apprentices? They raised their Lightsabre pikes over their shoulders and eagerly watched the distant fighting. The outpost also had a small, back entrance. This was entrance was 'guarded' by a small pack of demons. It was also heavily padlocked, and, at a glance, it appeared as if none of the demons held the key. Both entrances were also also in the line of sight of two tall watchman's towers.

"How do you want to handle this, Councillors?" Eli asked. "We've got about 12 able bodies men at our disposal, not including ourselves. They'll follow our orders without question, and fight with everything they've got. Say the word, and they'll stand to attention. The way I see it, all we need to do is catch and hold a single outpost. Once we have one, we can turn this outposts anti-air canon against the other outposts. We'll clear a path for out Warships and Bombers. We'll be able to get the attention of a shuttle or two. Once we're inside, things should be easy... the question is.. how?"

@Lucky @Takumi @amwexia

​

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
"I warned you!" Eric snapped as Compa launched her syringe. He's eyes widened a little more as Big Mother deflected Compa's attack- it had brought him another moment or two. He plunged his blade deep into the invisible object in his arms. A stream of blood began to spray into the air.

He dropped his prize as Big Mother raised him over his head. No matter how tight her grip grew, the gleeful look on his face didn't waver. He laughed maniacally.
"Food? Wait... Food? Oh... Oh.... You don't don't know? You know what? One final word comes to mind-- Look!"

He reached out to Mother's face with his free hand and turned it towards the growing pool of blood on the dirt beneath them.

The Mother's vision began to blur. White spots began to fill her eyes. Her senses were adapting to something. The invisible object the Grim Reaper had stabbed was starting to take shape.

It was the bleeding body of... Compa?

"I understand your confusion. This must be quite a shock... but look closer..."

Eric turned her face once again. He directed her eyes back to the wreck of the Crusader.

"Look at all those bodies. Ashe's. Eliphas'. Yours!" He giggled. "This is no trick, Mother! Think about it. Think about it nice and hard. Nobody survives a crash like that. No one!"

The Grim Reaper spoke the truth. Amidst the blood and the fire, the battered and broken bodies of the Goddess' Chosen sat, mangled. The only body that missing was Captain White's.

"You see, the spirit doesn't process trauma the same way the body does. Sometimes, the spirit refuses to pass on to where its meant to be. It sticks about. It forgets its 'death' and creates a 'body' through which it can wander. A phantom. Blackheart through the crash might have left a phantom or two. It's why he sent me here- to reap! To collect what he is owed! To capture or obliterate your Phantoms! "

STATUS: Ashe// Deceased!
STATUS: Beauregard Lionette// Deceased!
STATUS: Big Mother// Deceased!
STATUS: Compa// Deceased!
STATUS: Dinasadhaka Vipatti// Deceased!
STATUS: Dukemon// Deceased!
STATUS: Eliphas the Inheritor// Deceased!
STATUS: IF// Deceased!
STATUS: Jester Lavorre// Deceased!
STATUS: Kuro Kyoka// Deceased!
STATUS: Maddison Palmer// Deceased!
STATUS: Omnimon// Deceased!
STATUS: Rory Mercury// Deceased!
STATUS: Silque// Deceased!

"Not quite as fun the second time around, is it? There's no Goddess to rescue you this time! You having a breakdown yet? Has existential terror consumed you, yet? No? Well..."

[CRACK-OOM]

The sky erupted with fire. The wreck of the Droid Warship slipped through the portal. The Odyssey followed it, its canons blazing.

"Guess there's no use in fighting it now, is there? The wait I see it, I'm dead either way. I don't need a body watch your little empire fall apart. My phantom can do that form the safety of Blackheart's fort. Enjoy your wandering, my spirits. Enjoy your eternal damnation!"

The Reaper Plunged his scythe deep in his collar. With a cough and a whimper, the little life that remained in the Reaper's eyes began to fade. His body went limp. A moment later, it faded from Mother's hand. He left no trace behind.

STATUS: Eric Williams// Deceased!

As soon as the Reaper vanished, the wound he had inflicted upon Compa's body ignited. Within seconds, her body had been totally consumed by flames. Its ashes were scattered by the wind.

Without a body, Compa's hopes of resurrection had been dashed.

Overhead, the Odyssey slowly came into land. But the figures that stood upon its bridge seemed to stare right through them. It was as if the Ground Team could no longer be seen by the living.

In the distance, the Chosen could make see a Crimson-suited man watching them. He was... laughing...

@Jeremi @Crunch @Raynar Saassin​

@Air Team
The Bridge of the Odyssey,
The steel doors of the Odyssey's bridge swung open, revealing the bridge to Kolin and Roman. Standing before one of the ship's towering windows stood Zamasu. He stared into the Hell portal, his body rigid. He barely acknowledged their presence.

"All forces converge at the portal," He muttered, unflinching. "Let me know your statuses now. Once we're inside, you'll switch to psychic channels. Do you understand?"

"Received and understood, sir. Entering the portal now."
"Entering the portal now."
"Passing through."
"We're in sir we---"

"Captain?"

"Shit! We're encountering heavy opposition! They've got anti-air canons! We can't get our bombers past them! We can--- agh!!!!!"

The radio faded to static.

Zamasu sighed, his solders relaxing a little.

"It's never easy, is it?" He sighed and turned to face the air team. "We've lost track of the CFWs. We're down a warship. We're working on reaching out to our allies back at the Citadel. We've got the Sith on board. They're claim that they're eager to avenge Nox. It's more likely that they're trying to prove themselves. Their looking to take his place. But their reasons don't interest me. What matters is that they're coming..."

The kai glided across the bridge towards the Chosen. As he did so, the Odyssey began to turn and follow the Fellowship's other warships through the portal. Smoke and light danced across the Bridge's window as the ship slipped into the Nether.

"In the mean time, we still need a ground team. We're coming down near the wreck of the Crusader. There's a team waiting for you in the hangar. In the wreck, you'll need to retrieve the ship's cloaking device. It'll hide you from the demons whilst you march on the fort---"

[Crack-oom]

The moment the clouds parted, an explosive shell struck the Odyssey's shields. The force of the blast was enough the shake the ship to its core. The ship's technicians did their best to restore the ship's balance and compensate for its counter-motion.

"Set us down! We're vulnerable at this altitude!"
View attachment 4583
The ships pilots obey his commands. They rushed to their posts and punched information into their computer screens. The ship performed a series of evasive maneuvers and began to descend towards the sands of Hell. As the rocky earth grew closer, the battle bellow grew clearer. Explosions littered the skies. War machines battled large demons. Dark creatures tore their way through spider-tanks. Star-fighters completed swift drive-bys, shattering the armored shells of towering insects. Slowly but surely, the Fellowship's forces were gaining ground. But every inch came at a high price.

"We're coming up on the wreck now, sir. We're seeing--- oh god... the bodies..."

From the edge of the bridge, the Chosen could make out the mangled remains of the rest of the War Council. The ruins were still. They were completely empty. A red-suited man watched the blazing wreck from a nearby rock. He stared up at the Odyssey and laughed. He beckoning them to land with a thin, bony finger.​

@Yun Lee @amwexia​

The CFWs and the Tuffles in Hell
[KLANG]

Brave's blade was caught before it could connect with his prey. Kamin folder her arms and laughed.

"You took your time, bro."

Oren smiled. He gripped CFW's blade tightly with one hand and charged up a Ki blast with the other. His sister followed his example and formed a ki-ball of her own.
View attachment 4580
[Boom]

The two raging energy spheres- one blue and one pink- struck the CFW and send Brave skidding back across the sand. Kamin caught his sword before it hit the ground.

"What can I say? I wanted to savor the fight with the fleet..."

"You lost, didn't you?"

"I did not!"

"Then where's your Saiyan body?"

"Okay, fine. I was caught off guard..."

"Aw, you poor thing..."

"You know what? Let's just fuse already."

"Already?"

"Look. We've got another CFW heading our way. The Odyssey will be down here any minute. We might as well give it something to shoot at..."

"Eh, I'm down." Kamin laughed.

[Click!]

The Tuffle's palms collided. Purple light flooded the clearing. Sand and filth was whipped up into the air as the pair's powers combined. Thunder crackled in the distance. With a hissing screech, Kaminoren emerged from the smoke.

View attachment 4581
"Be honest with us--- how do we look?" Kaminoren laughed. "We're the last thing you two are gonna see, so we hope we look alright. Now... which of you two kids wants to die first?"​

@Raynar Saassin​

@Ground Team
The Wreck of the Crusader
Every strike Eliphas unleashed added fuel to Cunber's burning fury. Every pounding punch and ever flying knee filled his body with a rising tension. Eliphas was bounding against a dam, and he the Saiyan was about to burst. As Eliphas' uppercut shattered Cunber's jaw, the Saiyans arms closed in around around the sides of the Inheritor's head. Propelled by fury, Cuber's head came bounding back down against the Eliphas'. He headbutted him again. And again. And again. He didn't flinch. His pain propelled his fury to new heights.

View attachment 4584
Streams of gold began to course through his hair. His power rose once again. His shivered with anticipation.
"I'm no Dog!" The Saiyan grunted. He drew back his fists and leaped into the air, ready to shatter Eliphas' guard with a weighting punch. "I a slave to no man!"

His strike connected. He came down like a hammer striking an anvil.

"I'm not Blackheart's! I'm not yours!"

@Crunch​

@Team Leave
The Heart of the WASTELAND
"Jester's right," Eli cried as he took a rifle from one of his wounded men. "We need to improvise. We need to think on our feet and keep the Black Army of their guard, and---"

The clouds parted as the Droid Warship slipped through the portal, its tattered corps leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. A moment later, the Fellowship's fleet entered the fray, narrowly avoiding a flurry of blasts from one of the Black Army's might canons.

"There's our distraction!" Eli grinned as he ran clambered to the top of a nearby rock to get a better view of the battle. "Now's our chance."

"My answer hasn't changed, Eli." Scott muttered. "I'm sorry. But I'm not risking my men."

"Then we'll go alone." Eli snapped with conviction. "There might not be many of us, but we'll be a smaller target should things go wrong. Take the wounded. Get them back to your cave. Hide with them. Cower. Those who want to save lives, come with us. We're going to give them hell..."

***
The Crew of the Crusader approached the outpost from a nearby cliff-face, giving them ample time to scout out the facility.

Though the distant Battle for Hell had drawn out a fraction of the it's staff, outpost was still heavily guarded. The facility's canons had kept the Fellowship at bay, and thus the Outpost's thin, electrified fence remained undamaged. A fence was being powered by an small generator inside the facility. If someone could take out the generator, the fence could easily be cut by a knife or arrow.

The Outpost's main gate was guarded by two... Sith Apprentices? They raised their Lightsabre pikes over their shoulders and eagerly watched the distant fighting. The outpost also had a small, back entrance. This was entrance was 'guarded' by a small pack of demons. It was also heavily padlocked, and, at a glance, it appeared as if none of the demons held the key. Both entrances were also also in the line of sight of two tall watchman's towers.

"How do you want to handle this, Councillors?" Eli asked. "We've got about 12 able bodies men at our disposal, not including ourselves. They'll follow our orders without question, and fight with everything they've got. Say the word, and they'll stand to attention. The way I see it, all we need to do is catch and hold a single outpost. Once we have one, we can turn this outposts anti-air canon against the other outposts. We'll clear a path for out Warships and Bombers. We'll be able to get the attention of a shuttle or two. Once we're inside, things should be easy... the question is.. how?"

@Lucky @Takumi @amwexia

​

@Team Stay
The Wreck of the Crusader
"I warned you!" Eric snapped as Compa launched her syringe. He's eyes widened a little more as Big Mother deflected Compa's attack- it had brought him another moment or two. He plunged his blade deep into the invisible object in his arms. A stream of blood began to spray into the air.

He dropped his prize as Big Mother raised him over his head. No matter how tight her grip grew, the gleeful look on his face didn't waver. He laughed maniacally.
"Food? Wait... Food? Oh... Oh.... You don't don't know? You know what? One final word comes to mind-- Look!"

He reached out to Mother's face with his free hand and turned it towards the growing pool of blood on the dirt beneath them.

The Mother's vision began to blur. White spots began to fill her eyes. Her senses were adapting to something. The invisible object the Grim Reaper had stabbed was starting to take shape.

It was the bleeding body of... Compa?

"I understand your confusion. This must be quite a shock... but look closer..."

Eric turned her face once again. He directed her eyes back to the wreck of the Crusader.

"Look at all those bodies. Ashe's. Eliphas'. Yours!" He giggled. "This is no trick, Mother! Think about it. Think about it nice and hard. Nobody survives a crash like that. No one!"

The Grim Reaper spoke the truth. Amidst the blood and the fire, the battered and broken bodies of the Goddess' Chosen sat, mangled. The only body that missing was Captain White's.

"You see, the spirit doesn't process trauma the same way the body does. Sometimes, the spirit refuses to pass on to where its meant to be. It sticks about. It forgets its 'death' and creates a 'body' through which it can wander. A phantom. Blackheart through the crash might have left a phantom or two. It's why he sent me here- to reap! To collect what he is owed! To capture or obliterate your Phantoms! "

STATUS: Ashe// Deceased!
STATUS: Beauregard Lionette// Deceased!
STATUS: Big Mother// Deceased!
STATUS: Compa// Deceased!
STATUS: Dinasadhaka Vipatti// Deceased!
STATUS: Dukemon// Deceased!
STATUS: Eliphas the Inheritor// Deceased!
STATUS: IF// Deceased!
STATUS: Jester Lavorre// Deceased!
STATUS: Kuro Kyoka// Deceased!
STATUS: Maddison Palmer// Deceased!
STATUS: Omnimon// Deceased!
STATUS: Rory Mercury// Deceased!
STATUS: Silque// Deceased!

"Not quite as fun the second time around, is it? There's no Goddess to rescue you this time! You having a breakdown yet? Has existential terror consumed you, yet? No? Well..."

[CRACK-OOM]

The sky erupted with fire. The wreck of the Droid Warship slipped through the portal. The Odyssey followed it, its canons blazing.

"Guess there's no use in fighting it now, is there? The wait I see it, I'm dead either way. I don't need a body watch your little empire fall apart. My phantom can do that form the safety of Blackheart's fort. Enjoy your wandering, my spirits. Enjoy your eternal damnation!"

The Reaper Plunged his scythe deep in his collar. With a cough and a whimper, the little life that remained in the Reaper's eyes began to fade. His body went limp. A moment later, it faded from Mother's hand. He left no trace behind.

STATUS: Eric Williams// Deceased!

As soon as the Reaper vanished, the wound he had inflicted upon Compa's body ignited. Within seconds, her body had been totally consumed by flames. Its ashes were scattered by the wind.

Without a body, Compa's hopes of resurrection had been dashed.

Overhead, the Odyssey slowly came into land. But the figures that stood upon its bridge seemed to stare right through them. It was as if the Ground Team could no longer be seen by the living.

In the distance, the Chosen could make see a Crimson-suited man watching them. He was... laughing...

@Jeremi @Crunch @Raynar Saassin​

Ashe took a look at the outpost before him, though his eyes locked onto the padlocks.

"I don't have the necessary tools for it, but I have some experience with lock picking, however..." He offered with a frown, trailing off at the pack of demons between the back entrance and them. Between those and how heavily locked that door was...

"It might take some time." He finished, shoulders slumping a little.

Silque meanwhile took a moment to think over their other options. She was at a bit of a loss, really.

@Sark @amwexia @Lucky

 

[Sark]

Once again meat had escaped from her grasp. She just watched on with a deadpan look as the Grim Reaper slayed himself in front of her. Finally as the living forces walked among she spoke. "The human really enjoyed hearing himself speak." Looking towards the crimson suit man, Big Mother couldn't help but grimace.

"It seems like one way or another...I will be in debt once more before this is all over." Having said that she started making her way towards the figure, though she was quite certain she knew who it was...

And that did not make the grimace on her face disappear any quicker.

@Sark @Crunch @Raynar Saassin

So...they had all perished. Kolin felt her stomach drop, tearing her eyes from the corpses. She couldn't bear to look at them. All she could do was press on.

Did that mean that he had perished, as well? To think, he had not only been here the entire time, but had been part of the High Council...and she hadn't even known. And now there was a high probability that he had become an early casualty of this war. Would her emperor mourn the loss? She certainly wouldn't. There was no love lost in the burning wreckage.

"If needed, I can put out the fires," she said, looking at the man. "I don't trust any beings in this place. Our focus must remain on that cloaking device...and our mission."

@Sark @amwexia​

Wreck of the Crusader,
Seen by both the Living and the DEAD
View attachment 4585
"So quick witted, Big Mother," Mephisto teased. "You know I love that in a woman. I don't know whether its the burning wreck, the fires of Hell or your enigmatic smile, but something here as got me hot under the collar."

He winked.

"How about we cut to the chance. You of all people know how this goes. I'm here to offer you a deal. You'll accept my deal, because you're all desperate and there's no better option. I screw you over with the small print, but we part as unlikely foes none the less. Sound good?"

"The same offer applies to you, Kolin. What would you give to see your friends again?"

@Jeremi @Raynar Saassin @Yun Lee @Jackythejack​

"Our focus must remain on that cloaking device...and our mission."

@Sark @amwexia​

"You're right, Councilor." Zamasu muttered as he stepped into the wreck. "We shouldn't waste our time crying over spilled mortals. Men!" He called his 'new' ground team to his side. Azrael took point. A handful of regular soldiers gathered around him.

"Bring me that cloaking device. Be quick. Time is of the essence."

The soldiers moved out and marched into the burning ship. They pulled their gas-masks over their faces and vanished into the smoke. One stayed behind, her eyes fixed on a device in her hand.

"Did I stammer, private? I gave you a direct order. Follow it."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry... but my scanner picking up a life-signature inside the ship..."

"Ignore it. A demon must have scurried inside the wreck before we arrive. You colleges will deal with it, I'm certain."

"Yes, sir... but I... The Life-Signature matches that of Councillor Urien..."

"What?"

"It's... possible that he survived the crash, isn't it? I mean... he can turn his skin to bronze. He could have survived..."

Zamasu paused for a moment. His fixed his eyes on the horizon, and the ghostly silhouette of Blackheart's fort.

"Forget about him. Our mission matters more to the Fellowship than the head of another Secularist tool. Stop wasting time. Get in there and find the cloaking device. Now."

@Yun Lee @amwexia​

Ashe took a look at the outpost before him, though his eyes locked onto the padlocks.

"I don't have the necessary tools for it, but I have some experience with lock picking, however..." He offered with a frown, trailing off at the pack of demons between the back entrance and them. Between those and how heavily locked that door was...

"It might take some time." He finished, shoulders slumping a little.

Silque meanwhile took a moment to think over their other options. She was at a bit of a loss, really.

@Sark @amwexia @Lucky

Black Army Outpost
"If you think you can break that lock, I'll handle the demons. I'll draw them away from the facility and take out as many as I can. I'll give you a signal when it's safe to move in. I'll take a man or too with me."

Eli clenched his teeth. He took his radio off his jacket and smashed it against a rock. He removed a long, thin strip of metal from its antenna.

"We'll only get one shot at this, Ashe. Do you think you can pick the lock with this?"

@Takumi @Lucky @amwexia​