Geneforce, the Next Generation Episode 4: Gates of Heaven, Depths of Hell

Noctural: I see. And why may I ask are you here? I find it interesting that both our armies are invading Iciaura at the same time.

Fallow: Lets look at the evidence, shall we? Raem just offed Aeducan, who was a hero of the Celestio-sapian race much like Raem's father Hades and his uncle Spirit, who happened to also be Aeducan's brothers. But before that, he killed Spirit in cold blood...If you ask me, it sounds like the little idiot has a personal vendetta against the gods.
Fai Zheng: A vendetta against the gods?
Fallow: Are you a parrot or a panda? Yes, a vendetta against the gods! He's systematically taking out the heroes that the gods would use to defend themselves. The Daedra have no idea that the gods use heroes nowadays otherwise we would have the entire Daedric Armada knocking on our doorstep all at once. No, Raem isn't with the Daedra, but its clear he's against the gods.
Kleptomania: And its clear that he's not with Phantasmos or the Titans, or he and Ouranos would be on Mobius in the war...
Joker: Then we shouldn't take any chances. Fallow, where was Raem last sighted other than on Amazon and Rapture?
Fallow: On Iciaura. From what our intel says, the Bleak Nebula is still on the planet. But a lot of hell is being raised there right now...
Joker: Our objective is Raem. Take your best troops with you. I want you, A Corpulse, and an Alpha Keshin going. However, Raem is no longer skilled in mental assault. Flayer troops should suffice in subduing him. Take your best owls with you and the other two, and be thorough.
Fallow: Yes sir. *he turns and walks off to gather his forces.
Kleptomania: Steam, is there anything else that you would like to bring to our attention? With Saber only recently rejoining and these two being greenhorns...
Zeke: Greenhorns?!
Fai Zheng: I think he means that we're new to Geneforce X..
Zeke: Oh...
Kleptomania:....it would seem that YOU are next in command in Geneforce X since Garm is nowhere to be found.

*Archer flies up behind the angel and equips the Proteus-Fire patch*
Archer: KEEEL IT WITH FIRE! *he starts letting out a jet of flames from the animal head on his arm, coating the noise shield in flames and causing a tremendous amount of heat to be let off inside the shield*

Blastion: Dait- *he feels the castle violently shaking* What the hell?! *He throws open the door; destruction* What's going on?!
Daitengu Luna: *she runs back out onto the balcony and watches as the death toll rises. The undead AND the daedra? Large skeketal wings burst out of her back* Blastion, do what you can here. Ill see what i can do out in this living hell! *With that Daitengu flies off getting a birds eye view of the chaos*
Blastion: He runs out into the halls, tail and fists lit with burning lava*

Garm: *he watches as the guards are taken down so easily. He turns to Sven* So... What do you do exactly?
Sven: *he pulls the staff he has off of his back and shows it excitedly to Garm.* Watch and learn rookie~ *the staff head glows green and he waves it at a guard. The guards eyes change to the same green, but start returning to their original color* I see some mental struggling here... *he narrows his eyes dangerously and the staff glows brigther. The guard finally succumbs to the control* Now that THAT is taken care of... Where are Daitengu's keeepers?
*The guard turns and beings to lead them*
Garm: Woah...
Sven: This is just simple control. I can do much more.
*after they have been walking for a while, the reach an area that is more heavily guarded then before. Sven turns to the controlled guard*
Sven: You've served your purpose. *he holds his staff up-side-down and smashes the clawed bottom into the guard's chest, blood spraying onto the 7 year old's face. He twists the staff until there is an awful grinding and clicking, before he rips the staff out, pulling out half a ribcage, a lung, and a heart.* There. This got us further in... *the organs drop from the claw and hit the ground with a gruesome slurp. The heart still beated for several seconds before going silent.*
Garm: O_O *his face pales slightly as he stares at the organs on the ground. He seriously felt like throwing up now...*

Liola: Saber... Bring on the trumpets...

Vein: *he stands on a cliff overlooking Iciaura and its impending doom. Under that hood was a.... smile?! Though is quickly disappeared as Daitengu Luna landed next to him.*
Luna: This is ridiculous...
Vein: . . . . .Not really.
Luna: Well to you, maybe not. but to me and probably everyone else that is having their lives cut short is it. *she laughs lightly* Although in my 10,000 years of being alive, I'v always longed to see this much destruction in one night.

Xenon: *She is about to reply when she hears footsteps approaching. Her claws became illuminated in Madness as Iodes turned the corner. Xenon smirked, claws unsheathing Thanacorpse as their eyes locked.* Found you.
Iodes: ...Just who are you? You're plainly not from around here, but you seem familiar to me...
Xenon: *Not replying, she swings her scythe downwards, a large roar of Madness erupting from its blade and crashing into Iodes, who is sent careening back into the far end of the hall. Xenon's hands glow with black lightning and she points at Iodes, a large discharge of energy threatening to engulf her whole.*
Iodes: *She looks up at the last second, forming a barrier of Madness to black the attack. Or so she hoped. The black lightning cut through the barrier, electrocuting Iodes with its deadly power. Iodes ignores the searing pain and the smell of charred flesh as she creates a laser cannon on her arm. Using the paths of Madness was now second-nature to her, despite her inability to use them efficiently. She fired the cannon, the crimson energy flooding over Xenon, who countered by flipping her scythe's blade upwards. The laser was deflected off the blade and sent rocketing skyward.*

Ouranos: *He finally smirks, locating the defense god's field. He had concealed it well, but not well enough. The thundercat lept off the castle top and ran across the rooftops towards the cliffs.*

Steam: *He blinks.* ...Say what? *His eyes widen, realizing that Kleptomania' statement was true.* Erm... a little while ago, a strange hooded figure said Saber and I were in some sort of grave danger. That person left before saying anything else, though...

Sivica: *He looks at the organs with a sigh, before looking down the hall, seeing Saber and Liola. The two Geneforce X members had not seen them, making them perfect pickings.*
Kulen: There's the male target... He's not easily defeated. Alright, Sven, can you manipulate the Succubus' mind at all?

Xan-Bird: *While flying, a large beam of red energy erupts from the ground, nearly incinerating whole. He looks down the floor hole, seeing only the top of Xenon...*

Baleus: We've got him now!!

The angel was enveloped in the flame... and when it cleared, he was gone. "Great, back to square one." Beal cursed.

The Pleiades landed, switching back to Proteus - Dark. "Everyone alright?" he asked.

Lucy immediately recognized him. "Ryuusei?" she asked, approaching him.

"Nice to see you again, Lucy." Ryuusei greeted.

Sven: Actually... I have a better idea. *his gaze shifts to Garm, and a smile plays across his face.* Besides. The cutie seems to be in a drunken fit. *He holds his staff which begins to glow green and points it at Garm*
Garm: *his eyelids droop and his eye color changes to a greenish gold*
Sven: Seeing from your past, these were two of your friends. Go. Act completely normal. They will not be able to tell the difference. At the last second, kill the boy. Do you understand what I'm saying?
Garm: *he nods, blinks several times and heads toward Liola and Saber* Saber! Liola! It's been forever!!!
Sven: *Turns to Kulen* Can't wait to see how this turns out. Any bets? I bet the keeper wipes the floor with Garmy~ What do you guys think?

Vein: *he looks in the direction of Ouranos's power* About time...

Saber: Um....what? *he looks up and sees Garm walking towards him* G-Garm?! *a smile breaks out onto his face* COUSIN! I was worried something happened to you!
*suddenly, a growl eminates in the back of Saber's mind. He hears a deep voice speaking to him in the innermost portions of his mind. The voice is Fenrir, the Fangs of Daitengu*
Fenrir: Don't trust him. I smell a trap...
Saber: *his smile fades and he looks serious.* Garm...how did you get here? *he casually puts his right hand on Chillrends hilt, so if an attack comes he will be able to draw it quickly without Garm noticing until it would be too late* Are you alone?

Kleptomania: Hmmmm.....I see.....Then you had better go find Saber and Liola. Stick together and keep on your toes. Also, if Ouranos is involved, then your best bet at bringing him back to your side would be his sister, Iodes. She is currently on Iciaura. With Fallow hunting Raem, you won't have to worry about a surprise attack from Raem. Once you find Iodes, tell her everything that has happend. Then bring her here to Sovrengarde. You may use this station as your base and home for now. Also, give my regards to Ajax while you're at it. Poor cat's been cooped up in that ship for as long as I've been a Keshin!

Helios: *Griffin lands and Helios jumps off* Woah, you're Ryuusei the Pleiades! You're like, a hero from back when the Daedra invaded! According to the rumors, you were the one along with Slepnir the Arion that got Rufus the Hero in close enough to duel the Daedric Prince Clavicus Vile!
Griffin: This guy?! The Daedra must have been wimps!
Archer: *he lands next to Helios* Food. Pay up. NOW. *he glances at Ryuusei* Nice work kid. Anyway, FOOOOOOD. NOOOOOOOW!
Helios: *he grumbles and takes out his credit card and hands it to Archer* Go nuts.
Archer:* OH YES! *he runs off to the nearest grocery store*
Helios: *he turns to Lucy and Beal* Sorry if we weren't any more helpful. *he spots Lucy and his mouth drops* Woah....
Griffin: *using his claw he closes Helios's mouth* Easy there, slick. Your tongue was getting dusty...
*suddenly, a blast of force as well as a Dark elemental energy beam blows a crater near the heroes. The hunters are now on their hoverboards, floating above them*
Bonesaw: GAHAHAHAHAHA! WELL IT LOOKS LIKE TODAY IS A GOOD DAY AFTER ALL! PAYBACK TIME, BRATS!
Helios: Crap! Antonio, its those offworlders that destroyed the Market District in Tesseract!

Noctural: Little Iodes....*shadows begin to fly around her like tentacles* The Daedra have been looking for you...

Ryuusei quickly dodged and rolled, getting Lucy out of the way. "Stay here!" he commanded after getting her behind a police car, then leapt out.

Taking aim at Bonesaw, Ryuusei began firing dark-element bullets at him like a machinegun.

Bonesaw: *he opens his mouth and his eyes lock onto the lasers. The lasers arc aroung him and Ripper and burst in the sky* That one annoys me...Ripper, sick 'em!
Ripper: *he flies down at Ryuusei and tackles him, the two now tumbling all over the ground in a wrestling match. Ripper begins punching and clawing at Ryuusei like a feral animal.*
Bonesaw: *he jumps off his hoverboard and lands in front of Beal and Lucy. He looks Beal over a bit* Big, ain't ya? *he looks Lucy over* Oh my, quite a cutie you are! Nowhere near as cute as Kyra, but still cute! *he lowers himself and holds his hands out, inviting Beal and Lucy to fight him* I think I'll play with you two a bit! GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Garm: I honestly don't remember. I left to do some soul searching, ya know, finding answers? Well while I was doing that, something lead me here. I don't know what it was, but it brought me back to you two! *he opens his empty hands, inviting Saber into a bro-hug* I missed ya bro.
Liola: *she pulls out a trumpet* BRING ON THE TRUMPETS!

With one mighty kick, Ryuusei punted Ripper off him, and promptly fired a few shots at him.

As for Beal and Lucy, Lucy simply stepped back a little; she was clearly not going to win. Beal on the other hand... "Rragh!" he shouted, swinging the same telephone pole he attacked the angel with, which had bounced off his passive shield.

Saber: *he goes to hug Garm, but is stopped by Liola's outburst last minute* Wait, what?

Ripper: *he barrel rolls in the air and begins firing down his own lasers at Ryuusei with equally deadly accuracy. he then zigzags through the laser blasts and lands a strong front kick into Ryuusei's head.*
Bonesaw: *he ducks under the swing and brings his fist around, punching Beal in the shoulder and flinging him a good 4 feet* WOW! HEAVY, AIN'T YA!? YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY PUT UP A FIGHT, HUMAN!

Ryuusei was not going to let that happen. Dodging the shots, he shifted to Proteus - Light as Ripper tried to kick him. The sheer burst of light was strong enough to push Ripper away, and when it dissipated, Ryuusei was in his Proteus - Light form, which was angelic... and any Dark-element enemy's worst nightmare. "Wanna try me again?" he taunted.

As for Beal, he got back up as if he was unhurt. "Come on, an Akuma gave me more of a challenge!" he shouted.

With all of his strength, Beal charged forward and dealt a mighty punch to Bonesaw's face. If it was enough to take down an Akuma, it was certainly enough to give Bonesaw a headache.

Bonesaw: *he smiles under the weight of the punch and enters a horse stance. As he skids across the ground with Beal's fist still in his face, he stops and grabs Beal's arm.* Hehehehehe.....*he takes a step and throws Beal with relative ease into a building* Nice try, Kid! But it'll take more than that to knock me down! Do you know who I am?! I'M BONESAW JECKLEJEQUES! *he charges right at Beal, mouth open and arms wide out.*
Ripper: *an insane grin forms on his face. His Proteus-Dark energy begins to rise and form around him like a thick smoke cloud* Dark and Light....both are weak against each other.....I'm gonna break ya.....I'm gonna crack ya open....*when he looks up, his eyes are full glitched-up rage and animosity usually only seen in Novas* AND I'M GONNA F&%$ING EAT YA!

Attila: *he finally sighs* I'm not one for attacking unwilling opponents, but seeing as my existence is on the line, I got no choice. *he draws his broadsword and sickle and suddenly blue phoenix fire bursts out from the bottom of his feet. He boosts right at Mystess, jumps, pulls a wallrun off a tree branch, and fires his whole body right at her*

Liola: *she strikes Saber in the back of the head with the trumpet* TRUMPETS.
Garm: *his eyes narrow seeing that Liola has distracted Saber. He casually lowers his arms and a dagger of hardened lava forms at his waist. With the same speed as a ninja, he draws the dagger and slashes at Saber*
Sven: *still hidden with the rest* Stay on guard. this may get nasty...

Bonesaw unfortunately wasn't smart enough to realize that he had given Beal many a weapon to use by throwing him into a building. With unprecedented strength, Beal practically ripped out a steel support beam and swung it like a baseball bat at Bonesaw. "Batter up!" he shouted.

"Shut up." Ryuusei said monotonously, and raised his right hand, which had a crossbow on it.

With a loud twang, a bolt of pure light shot from it, flying right at Ripper's front teeth. And Ryuusei by far had the advantage, even if it missed. He had wings. Ripper didn't.

Saber: *even though the back of his head was in pain from the trumpet that just bashed his head, his wolf senses that Fenrir had given him were still sharp. He saw the dagger coming and instantly blocked with Chillrend's sheath. He also had Chillrend drawn and the blade pointed right at Garm* So, you really did leave us....I didn't want to believe it, but Lennox was right. You've taken the same path as Raem and Ouranos.

Bonesaw: Swing batta swing! *he ducks under the swing and uppercuts Beal clean in the jaw* NEW BATTA!
Ripper: *he takes the hit to the head, his head blown clean off. However, white noise forms on his neck and his whole head regenerates in a matter of seconds* Glitch, Noise Regeneration.

Garm: Heh... Do you honestly think I would take the same path as those traitors? No no no dear cousin, the path I took is much better. more... productive. *he sighs and shrugs* I could go into a full explanation about what I'm doing, but I'm just going to kill you. Then Steam. Then Daitengu herself.

Mystess: *she back jumps and dodges Attila* I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK!

Saber: So you would kill me, and Steam, and even your own MOTHER?! Then you really are no better than Raem! *he throws the sheath away and keeps his sword ready.* I don't plan on letting you lay a single finger on Steam or Luna!

Attila: And why's that? Because you're afraid?! Sheesh! Grow a backbone, why don't ya!? If this is really what you were like, then the history books about back when you were a hero were wrong! I mean come on! Pull yourself together.....Mom.....Are you really gonna let that monster Berserker run roughshod over your life?! Think about Grandma Luna! About Uncle Garm, Aunt Iodes, and Uncle Saber! Think about Dad! Are you really gonna just let him sink into darkness?! *tears form in Attila's eyes* You're Mystess Materex! You're gonna be the queen of the most powerful royal family ever assembled! You're gonna have a daughter who's studying at the College of Avalon to control her magic abilities! You're gonna have a son who becomes a problem in school but his friends pull him back together and he joins a new team! You're gonna have a husband who loves you and his family more than life itself! Just look! *he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small disk. Out from the disk shines a glowing hologram of Mystess in her early 30s in a queen's dress with Raem who is now a fully-grown Celestio-Sapian in a british royalty suit. Standing next to her is a tall female Celestio-Sapian with no mask and long flowing hair. Her skin gives off a magma red tint and she has magma crack designs on her skin. Standing next to Raem is Attila who is looking away and scowling a bit, proving he was at the time the hologram was taken a problem child.* I don't know how much this means to you, but you can't let a thing like Berserker rob you of your future! She may have beaten you, but that was just round one! You can take her, Mom! You can take her and you can beat her! I know you can! Don't sell yourself short!

Mystess: . . . I cant. Of course I want that future, but I just cant go back... I will talk to the Gods about arranging something for you and my future daughter, but I will not be going back. *she turns away*

Sven: I got this. *the staff changes from green to red as he quickly accesses Garm's memories* There it is! *his staff changes to many different colors as he alters the memory*

Garm: Mother? How could I call her that after she blamed me for Mystess's death?!

*Garm's Memory*
Mystess let out a weird choking noise and her head flopped forward, lifeless for good. Beserker laughed eeriely and faded lut of existance, the restraints disappearing, and Mystess falling to the ground. Luna was the first to reach the lifeless girl. She knelt down and cried; her tears mixing with Mystess's blood.

"No.... Why Mystess.... Why you...? First Xanthos... now you... please no more...... I...I can't take......" Luna mourned.

"Mom... I-I'm sorry." Garm cried softly, placing a hand on Luna's shoulder. Luna whipped around and glared at Garm.

"This... SHE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!" Luna roared, causing Garm to flinch violently. The she-hog stood and clenched her fists. "Why didn't you protect her?! Why were you so weak?!"

Garm could feel the tears welling up like pools of rain. How was this his fault? Luna's glare hardened and she slowly walked towards her son.

"M-mom... How is this my fault...?" He stuttered.

"You allowed her to die! You did nothing to stop this! You were weak! Spineless! A fool... Her death is your fault, Garment. Nobody else."

Garm swallowed his tears, turned away and ran off.

*end memory*

Garm: She said it was my fault... She blamed everything on me that day. And strangely? I believed her. Now... to make up for my Sister's death, I will take down Beserker and ANY other demon that gets in my way. *he jumps back from Saber's blade* Including Daitengu and her little lackeys.

"Whoa!" Beal managed to barely dodge it.

Gathering his stance again, he swung the support pole again, this time vertically. He was too much of an idiot to realize, however, that he hit the ceiling, and if the building took any more damage, it would fall on both of them.

Ryuusei's eye twitched. "... Now I know why Rufus hated fighting." he snarked, firing two more bolts. He was going to try and destroy Ripper completely.

Saber: You've clearly lost it. Aunt Luna would never say such a thing! *he brings his blade back and circles Garm* Who are you working for, Garm? They're clearly feeding you lies!

Attila: ....fine. Be that way. Talos!
Talos: *he materializes in white flame next to Attila and Mystess* Yes?
Attila: The real world. Send me there now. If Mom won't face her fear, then I'll face it for her. I want you to send me to Berserker.
Talos: Attila, are you mad?! There's no way you could beat Berserker!
Attila: If my mom is gonna just cower here, then I figure I've got at least a better chance than her!
Talos: Attila....

Bonesaw: *he saw his chance and opened his mouth, aiming his tongue for the roof* CORONER'S SHOCK! *he fires a blast of force into the ceiling while backwards rolling out of the building into the street*
Ripper: *he melds into the darkness and appears behind Ryuusei, using the shadows cast by Ryuusei's body on parts of his own form to appear in the air while holding on to Ryuusei. He then opens his animal mouth on his arm and his real mouth. The animal mouth bites down into Ryuusei's side, taking a good 47% of Ryuusei's stomach area into its maw. His normal mouth bites down onto Ryuusei's neck, causing sparks and circuitry to appear and flash*

Mystess: Nobody knows where Beserker is. She is untracable... And you wouldn't survive the first 10 seconds against her!

Garm: Lies you say? HA! You don't know what happened that day! YOU WEREN'T THERE! *his shoulders ignite, making him look more and more like the Pokemon, Typhlosion* YOU WEREN'T THERE! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!

Attila: THEN I'LL FIND HER ALL BY MYSELF!
Talos: Attila, stop this foolishness.
Attila: No. We had a deal, Talos. If I won, I would get whatever I wanted from you. She never swung at me, but I attacked. That means I technically win. My request is this! TAKE ME TO THE MORTAL WORLD!
???: Attila, stop.
*standing there is the Celestio-Sapian girl that was in the hologram*
Attila: G-Gwen.....
Gwen: Mom's right, Attila. You can't take Berserker. There are only a few people down there who can. And right now, two of them are duking it out.
Attila: Who?
Gwen: Saber and Garm. Garm thinks Grandma blames him for Mom's death. Now he's gone berserk and Saber is fighting him.

Saber: BUT I KNOW AUNT LUNA WELL ENOUGH THAT SHE WOULDN'T BLAME YOU FOR THIS! *his hairs stand on end and his ears sharpen. His front fangs grow out and his muscles begin to bulge. A spray of blood erupts from his back and a large wolf's tail springs out. Blood sprays out from his fingers and his nails immediately turn into sharp talons like a wolf's claw. He grips his blade, which turns into an energy blade in the shape of a wolf's head with a blade springing out from the top of the head.* Fenrir....WOLF GOD'S HOWL! *an energy wave ripples off of him. the sheer pressure from both Garm and Saber is enough to cause a crater to form around them in the metal floor* Liola, I suggest you stay back.

Liola: *finally regained her senses* Right!
Garm: Heheh... You THINK you know her. The truth is, you don't know her at all....
Sven: Uh-oh... *he turns to the group* We got a problem. *he waves the staff in the direction of Fenrir*

Mystess: And Attila... If I were to fight you... I would strike you down in a heartbeat.

Even Beal wasn't enough of an idiot not to get out of the way. He quickly rolled out of the way, avoiding the building crashing down on him. Ryuusei and Ripper weren't so lucky. The building fell on them. "Ryuusei!" Lucy gasped.

Unknown to all of them, perhaps even Ripper, Ryuusei had phased out. He reappeared on top of another building, blue noise flowing onto his wounds. "... That was just wrong..." he said under his breath.