Unbeknownst to the heroes, a green, imp-like creature watched from the top of a nearby cliff, muttering to himself as he watched the battle. “Fuck... fuck! I estimated Jason having allies from other worlds, but this... this is insane! How the hell am I supposed to fight this off?!” He continued to mumble to himself as the fight continued.
Well, you certainly don’t look like a heartless, or any sort of pony. A large, humanoid figure spoke from behind the green creature, his right eye glowing red. Who are you?
“Shit!” The creature jumped around, taking in Nemesis’ size before shaking his head. “My presence here doesn’t concern you!”
Nemesis growled. Considering you were just talking about fighting Jason and others off, I think it does concern me. Nemesis raised his launcher, levelling it on his shoulder and aiming it at the creature. I’ll give you ten seconds.
The creature growled before it’s eyes suddenly stopped glowing, the body slouching over and looking disoriented. It seemed to notice Nemesis for the first time and jumped. “Ah! Big scary monster!” Before he could question this, a tear in the air appeared behind the creature, distracting him and allowing the imp to scurry off as a man in leather armor appeared, his hood hiding his face in darkness. He looked over Nemesis with his glowing, purple eyes before letting out a low growl.
“There. I am now speaking to you as my true self and not through some intermediate.” Don spoke. “Now then, my only concern is assuring Jason does not interfere anymore than he already has. Standing in my way will result in a similar fate to his, and I would rather not be forced to make yet another enemy.”
I don’t think you understand. Nemesis tightened his grip on the trigger. Anyone who threatens my friends is already my enemy. He fired, the rocket heading straight for Don, only for the shadows around him to form a shield and block the blast. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.
“Then you leave me little choice.” Nemesis turned to find Don behind him, a light trail of fire indicating where he had darted around. A sword and dagger made of shadows appeared in his hands before he took up a fighting pose. “If you are going to hold to such a stupid ideal, then I suppose I must remove you from my path.” Don charged the man, moving into melee range in a split second and slashing out with his blades.
Nemesis didn’t try to move, the attack pierced him through his torso, and he only growled.You can try, but you’ll need more than blades to do that. He tightened his hand into a fist. You can’t easily kill what’s already dead. He swung at the man with crushing force, sending him sliding across the snow, though a shell of shadow could be seen around the area that was struck as he got up.
“Damn it. Eat this then!” His hand lit up with blue fire, a cone of it being thrown in Nemesis’ direction.
Nemesis made an obvious attempt to dodge this one, though the attack caught him in its wake, freezing one of his arms and one of his legs. He faltered, falling to the ground. Then he growled, pounding on the ice with his unfrozen arm, trying to break free.
Don took the opportunity to dash forward, slamming into Nemesis with his metal right leg.
Nemesis went rolling, almost off the cliff on which they stood. He grabbed the edge with his unfrozen hand, then felt a familiar, unwelcome rage building within him.
What?! Nemesis thought to himself. I got rid of this! What is this doing back? Nemesis snarled, pulling himself up with his free hand. “STAAAAAAARS!” He roared, smashing his frozen arm into the ground, the ice shattered, and tendrils shot from Nemesis body and pierced through the ground. They shot towards Don with intent to pierce straight through him at blinding speed.
“What the-” Don was cut off as he tried to avoid the tentacles, failing to do so completely as a few cut into his sides. “What is this?” Wings sprouted from his back and he leapt into the air, watching Nemesis with a shield of shadow in one hand.
The tendrils dug into the cliff face and hoisted Nemesis’ body into the air, setting him back onto the ground. They writhed around in the air behind him before retracting into his back.
I’m not exactly your everyday zombie. Nemesis remarked before switching weapons, holstering his rocket launcher and instead hoisting out his Gatling gun. The weapon began to hum in his hand as the muzzle spun. Block this. The weapon fired off hundreds of rounds towards the now winged man, hitting his shield and pushing him back as Don grunted.
“Gatling gun?! What sort of fucked up Equestria are you from?” Don was forced to land, holding the slowly disintegrating shield in front of him as bullets whizzed around him.
The kind that knows how to defend itself! Nemesis abandoned the weapon once it ran out of ammo on its belt and lowered his shoulder, charging straight through the shield. His shoulder slammed into Don’s chest and he went, once again, sliding across the snow.
Now, I suggest... if you don’t want to... Nemesis words died off as he gripped his head. His trench coat fell off, letting his tendrils fly free again as they whipped at the air around him angrily. Uuuuugh, what the hell are you doing to me?! “Staaaars...”
Don pushed himself up, his hood having fallen off his head to reveal his face. “Doing to you? I’m not some freaky tentacle creature.” His arms were covered in red flame as he sneered at him.
Shut up! Nemesis leaped forward with a roar, aiming to smash his fist down on the area Don was standing before he leapt to the side.
“Burn, freak!” Don let loose a gout of fire before dashing back, making sure to keep his distance from the infected being.
Nemesis took the fire full on, reeling backwards as the flames licked at him. His right eye burned brighter as he felt himself literally burning alive.
“STAAAAAAARS!” Nemesis switched back to his launcher, leaping out of the flames as he fired it at Don’s feet, rather than directly at him to try and catch him in the explosion. The blast blinded him, forcing him to dart back further in an attempt to escape the rampage.
Nemesis roared, a literal walking inferno as he charged through the snow after his target. Don didn’t make it easy though as he created spears out of shadow, throwing one after the other at him.
Nemesis managed to sneak a tendril around the side without Don noticing, and it quickly grasped his leg. Don glanced back at it with a panicked expression, but was quickly jerked back towards his opponent. Nemesis turned, slamming Don into the ground. Don groaned and tried to recover, and Nemesis picked him up and slammed him down again, on his wings this time. After a few more times, he dragged Don back towards him and held him up by his arms.
Leave. Now. Nemesis turned and threw Don as hard as he possibly could, sending the overlord sailing into the distance. Nemesis watched after him, then placed his hands over his face, shaking as he tried to recompose himself. When that failed, he snarled and roared into the sky.
“Um... what exactly are we doing with this thing anyway?” Spike looked out of the mech, a frown on his face.
Meowth smirked darkly, his eyes flashing red for a second, “Oh, you know, just destroy or capture any of the heartless that come our way.” His grin widened when he saw Wobbuffet’s worried look.
“Why would you want to capture one of those things?” Spike asked before shaking his head. “Shouldn’t we find this Yamask dude first?”
Meowth frowned. “I sent Yamask to go find Tomas and bring him here, and Yanmega is out looking for Sarah.” Meowth’s grin returned, only slightly wider. “And besides, if I can capture some of those Heartless, I might find a way to turn them to my side.”
Mime Jr. jumped out of his seat and pointed towards one of the ruined buildings. “[Hey! It’s Tomas and Sarah!]”
Meowth turned towards what Mime Jr. was pointing at and grinned, “Yo! Tomas! Sarah! Yamask! Hop on, theres enough room for three more people!”
“So, can Yamask really help Trixie?” Spike asked, hope in his eyes, “I mean she’s not my favorite pony in the world but... she doesn’t deserve to be somepony’s puppet.”
Tomas smiled at Spike, “Don’t worry, I’m confident in my Yamask’s possession ability, after all he was the body stealer of the Phantom Army before he joined me.” Yamask floated down towards Spike and chirped happily.
“Whoa...” Spike said, reaching out to touch the ghost.
Yamask smiled and floated closer, letting Spike rub his head. “Yam Yam.”
“[Sir, I hate to break up such a heartwarming scene, but we have to get to Trixie, before Yamask loses control of his excess energy.]” Wobbuffet finished with his signature salute. “[After all, no Pokemon can hold up such energy without accidentally triggering a evolution.]”
“Then lets go! We got a pony to save!” Spike commanded, dramatically pointing forward with as much authority as he could muster.
Meowth nodded, “Right.” Pulling one of the levers, the mech hummed to life and started to stomp towards the center of the empire.
“HA! Take that ya stupid shadow monster!” Dash shouted as she watched the behemoth heartless explode after Gilgamesh’s assault.
“Pay attention!” Jason hissed as he sliced a Neoshadow in half before it could claw at Dash.
“Heh, sorry,” she said with a chuckle. With everyone else busy, Jason’s group, which consisted of himself, Applejack, Twilight, Cadance, Shining, Zed, and Rarity, had decided to head directly to the Crystal Heart, with the hopes that Cadance could reclaim it.
“Just focus on the task at hand!” Shining Armor scolded as they moved down the back alleys, blasting their way through countless heartless. They got halfway there before Ansem-Trixie showed their face with a smirk.
“Just where do you think you lot are going? Trying to steal my heart? You could have at least brought flowers.”
“That heart ain’t yers, thief!” Applejack snorted, glaring at them.
“Quiet yourself knave, why don’t you go play in the mud?” they asked, summoning up their Soul Eater and Guardian. “Why don’t we see just how powerful your light really is?” They darted forward, scattering the group with a blast of darkness. A clash rang out as Xemnas appeared, blocking Ansem-Trixie’s attack.
“Go!” the nobody commanded, knocking his sibling away, “Use the heart to cleanse the darkness!”
Getting to his feet, Jason looked down at the others, “Twilight, Cadance, you’re with me. The rest of you back up Xemnas,” Jason commanded, already on his feet and running.
“Ya’ll heard the stallion!” Applejack barked at the two alicorns, gesturing for them to get going. “We got this.”
“Just try not to hurt Trixie, okay? It’s not her fault!” Twilight reminded as she and Cadance galloped off, quickly catching up to Jason. The trio fought their way into the center of the empire, the heart trapped behind a purple barrier.
“Any ideas on how we get past that?” Jason asked, slicing through some defenders that were guarding the barrier.
“Perhaps we can be of assistance?” Celestia asked as she and Luna lead a group of ponies into view. “Also, Jason? Your friend Ben is insane.”
“Ugh, what happened this time?” Jason asked, sounding exasperated.
“He transformed into the tiger and told us he was going to kill us,” Luna said, sizing up the barrier.
“Of course he did,” Jason said, turning to look at the alicorns, “Okay, let me shift into Stardust and we’ll blast it all at once.” Jason shifted into his alicorn form and began charging up his magic, the other alicorns doing the same. “Okay... one... two... three!” Jason shouted, and the five alicorns fired off their magical blasts as one. The barrier shattered under the combined strain, allowing access to the exposed heart. The heartless, seeming to sense their source of power under attack, turned all attention away from the Empire’s defenders. They swarmed the center of the empire, making Jason groan. “Fuck my life.” He reverted back to normal, firing off a few Ultima spells into the tidal wave of heartless.
“Quickly, Cadance! Before we are overwhelmed!” Celestia shouted, vaporizing as many heartless as she could with her magic. Luna and Twilight joined in, adding their magic to the barrage.
“No pressure, right?” Cadance asked with a nervous chuckle, moving up to the heart. She gazed at the blackened crystal, charging the love magic in her horn. “I just need a minute!”
“Yo, jackasses!” Jason shouted as loud as he could, “Making a last stand here! Anytime you want to show up would be nice!” He threw his arm out, sending a barrage of shrieking windigos into the darkness, freezing large portions of it.
“Hi.”
All of them turned to see Gilgamesh suddenly behind them.
“How–?” Cadance began.
“I have almost completely mastered Pinkie’s abilities. And now,” he began, his eyes glowing red as he hefted all his firearms, music starting as he did. “LET THE HEROIC SLAUGHTER BEGIN!” he shouted, firing his weapons at the oncoming horde while lasers shot from his eyes.
“About fucking time,” Jason said, firing off as much magic as he could.
“You guys better hang on,” Pinkie said, sitting on Gilgamesh’s shoulders, “This is gonna be a doozy!”
“She’s right,” Maud added, breaking the neck of a defender. A moment later, Cadance touched her horn to the heart for a moment, pushing all the love energy she could into it. All was quiet for a moment before the love surged through the Empire. The barrier exploded outward, evaporating the darkness that had infected the city and destroying all of the heartless.
“Whoa... this is just weird...” Jason said as he looked at his hand, which was now crystalline.
“It’s a side effect of the love magic,” Twilight commented, gesturing to herself and the others, who also had the crystal appearance.
“You... bitch...” Ansem-Trixie hissed, staggering into view. Unlike the rest of them, they were not crystalline but instead had wisps of darkness coming off their body. “You ruined everything!”
“All in a day’s work!” Gilgamesh commented gleefully.
“I was seriously hoping that would get rid of him...” Jason groaned, shaking his head. “I really hope Yamask got enough energy because we can’t fight him without hurting Trixie.”
“Arbok, use Wrap!”
Suddenly a large purple-scaled cobra burst from the nearby debris, and instantly began to wrap itself around Ansem-Trixie, constricting all of their movements.
“What?! Let... me... go!” turning towards Arbok, they noticed the venom that was beginning to drip from it’s mouth.
“Alright Arbok, Lick!” Sticking her tongue out, Arbok licked Trixie’s cheek, causing her whole body to become paralyzed.
“Come... guardian!” They managed to get out, their shadowy guardian emerging from her shadow.
“Oh no you don’t!” Spike shouted, jumping out of Team Rocket’s mech. He took in a deep breath before bathing the guardian in his dragonfire, dissipating it.
Pulling a lever, Meowth glared angrily at Ansem, “Sorry pal, but it all ends here for you.” Meowth’s eyes started to glow red, his grin widening every second, soon a familiar voice echoed through her head, “After allll II’m the only oone whooo will get the pleasure of destroying Jason.” A familiar looking Gengar appeared behind Meowth, “I still oowe him for ruining the plans I had for Equestria and Team Rocket, and with all this heartless essence I’m gathering, I’m suuree that the job will get done much quicker.” Disappearing inside of Meowth, the mech started to absorb all of the heartless around the area.
Remembering that she was still trapped, Ansem-Trixie tried to struggle, “Release me!” Ansem-Trixie hissed, glaring at them all, unable to break free.
“Do it,” Jason said with a nod, looking at Team Rocket, their allies gathering around the captive heartless.
“With pleasure,” Tomas turned towards Yamask and nodded, “Yamask, Nightmare!” Yamask’s body turned into a thick-looking black fog, which shot towards Ansem-Trixie and instantly entered their body.
Sarah took out two more pokeballs and released the pokemon inside. “Frillish, Pumpkaboo, I need you two to keep feeding Dark energy to Yamask, at least until he leaves the body.” The two pokemon looked at each other and flew towards Trixie.
Meowth jumped out of the mech, now staring at Trixie and began to notice the yellow mask that started to form around her head, “Tomas look!” Meowth pointed at Trixie with a happy expression, “Yamask is slowly gaining control of the body!”
Ansem-Trixie let out a scream before Ansem was forced out, retaking his true form. “You... insignificant worms!” he raved, staggering forward, “I’ll destroy you all!” He suddenly stopped, letting out a gasp, his Soul Eater stabbed through his chest.
“Not... your... puppet,” Trixie muttered before collapsing into a heap.
“This... isn’t over...” Ansem sneered as his body turned into wisps, drifting away into the night.
“Heh... we actually did it...” Jason said with a laugh, swaying a little from exhaustion.
“Little anticlimactic though,” Hel pointed out with a frown.
“Bah... its over and we can finally take a break. Great work guys,” Jason said, giving Team Rocket a thumbs up.
“Okay, I will admit, I am impressed,” Gilgamesh said, applauding. “You guys make one hell of a team.”
Tomas smiled bashfully, “It was Yamask who did all the work.”
“Yeah, not to mention we built the mech for no reason,” Meowth grumbled, kicking the mech. “We didn’t even need it!!” Wobbuffet waddled towards Meowth giving him a sympathetic pat on the back.
“[Don’t worry sir, maybe we can bring the mech back home with us, and besides, didn’t you capture the essence of a couple heartless?]” Wobbuffet saluted, “[Maybe you’ll be able to create your own Heartless, one that can work for us!]”
Meowth’s eyes flashed red, his wide grin returned “You’re riiiiight, hehehe.” Meowth looked at the mech with a sinister expression. Walking over to the mech, he tapped one of the glass orbs, and smiled when he saw a couple of red orbs.
“So... you guys staying for the wedding?” Jason asked, wiping some dirt off his forehead.
Sarah squeezed Tomas’ shoulder in excitement, causing him to yelp, “Of course we’re staying for the wedding!”
“Good to know,” Jason said. Turning to the rest of the Displaced he asked, “What about you guys?” He looked back and forth at them.
“Hell, you know I’m staying! I’ve got no other obligations, and you’ve already picked me as your best man!” Gilgamesh replied, reverting to his base form and giving the jotun a one-armed hug. “And besides, even if I wasn’t, I couldn’t miss my... son’s wedding.”
Jason just smiled, hugging him back.
“What was that about ‘your’ son?” a new voice asked, sounding like a deeper version of Jason’s voice. They all turned to see a grey, eight-legged horse, with two men on its back. One slid off its back, revealing the other to be what looked like Tom Hiddleston from The Avengers.
“Wait, what?” Jason asked blinking.
“Oh Faust, Loki really does look like Tom Hiddleston,” Gilgamesh muttered.
“You like it?” Loki asked, sliding off Sleipnir, “Mortals have the most imaginative interpretations of my appearance. This is my favorite of them all.”
“Ignore him,” the other man said, walking closer. Though he had a hint of asian descent, he looked like an older version of Jason. “Now, what was that about ‘your’ son?”
“Wait, are you... um... ugh, Terra, help me out here, I’m totally blanking on your husband’s name,” Gilgamesh said.
“Toya!” Terra shouted with glee, flinging herself into his arms, the two sharing a kiss. “You know for a dead man, you kiss rather well.”
“Good to know,” Toya said with a smirk, wrapping his arms around her.
“You glad now I didn’t tell ya he was coming?” Hel asked Jason, to which the young man just nodded.
“Now,” Toya asked, looking around, “Who else are we missing?”
“Just Ib,” Terra said, pulling away from him and fixing her hat, “Ah, there she is.”
Out of a nearby shadow stepped a tall woman with black hair and piercing red eyes. She wore an elegant red and black dress, which blew in the wind. “Present,” she said, walking over to the group.
“It’s one big family reunion,” Hel laughed, clapping her hands happily, “Warms the heart, ya know?”
“As I was saying,” Toya said, looking at Gilgamesh narrowing his eyes slightly, “Explain.”
“Well, you see sir, up until about a few months ago- that is to say a few months ago for me, what with the whole ‘time moves at different speeds’ thing in different Equestrias- Jason and I had a friendly teacher-student relationship. In our last meeting, however, he... um,” Gilgamesh actually looked embarrassed, twiddling his thumbs as he looked away. “Well, he said he never really thought of his adopted father, the one from earth, as a real father and, he, uh... kinda called me... ‘dad’ before he left last time. And, I, well... wasn’t really opposed to the idea.”
Toya looked at Jason critically, before turning back to Gilgamesh, “So you whipped him into shape huh? Good, I was afraid he’d end up a slacker or something. Glad to be proven wrong.” He held out his hand to Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh chuckled as he took it and shook. “Heh, you should’ve seen him the first time we met. Kid practically pissed his pants. Still he had the guts to face me down, and he’s come a long way since then.”
“Oh don’t I know it,” Toya laughed, moving over to Jason. The two stared at each other for a while before Toya pulled the young man into a tight hug. “You make me proud Corypheus, you’ve done more with your life than I ever did in mine. Never stop being you, you got that kid?”
“Y-yeah... I got it,” Jason said, hugging him back.
“So this is his family, huh?” Applejack asked, trotting up to Gilgamesh with a sigh, “Ah suppose he ain’t gonna be needin’ us no more...”
“Girl, you be trippin’. What makes you think he’s ever gonna forget about the Apples?” Gilgamesh asked.
“Well ah mean, what would you do if’n your real family came back to ya?” she asked, looking up at him.
Gilgamesh sighed. “I don’t think I’m the right person to ask that question, because my answer would probably be ‘Sorry folks, but I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted and you wouldn’t let me have, so thanks for the memories, but so long!’” He groaned. “I did not have a good relationship with them.”
“Family isn’t about blood,” Ib cut in, walking over. “Family are the people you’ve bonded with and stood against hardship with. If Corypheus calls you family then so will I.” She turned to Gilgamesh, holding her hand out, “I’m Ib, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Gilgamesh,” he replied, taking her hand. He then reached down had Applejack and Ib shake as well. “Thanks for letting us into the crazy family. Let us know when the next reunion is. I’ll bring hydra jerky.”
“Have you seen Loki? He’s got to be the most insane, childish, vain creature in this universe. “ Ib said, brushing some hair out of her face. “There is no way you're anywhere near as bad as him.”
The sound of a rhythmic hum filled the room. Twilight glanced about, eyes blinking in confusion. “Uhh... did anypony else hear that?”
The sound of shattering glass pierced the air, then a hole ripped open in the center of the room, through which a small ball of whiteish-blue light rocketed.
“Nemesis!” The whiteish blue light shouted. “You need to come quick! We’re almost—” The light stopped in mid sentence. Then slowly dimmed, revealing none other than Twilight Sparkle. Rather than wings made of feathers, her wings criss-crossed with dark blue alloys, her eyes glowed white, and electricity ran along circuits on her body. Jason’s Twilight’s jaw dropped at the sight.
“Oh...” Mecha-Twilight scratched her chin. “I overshot it didn’t I? Give me a second...” A holographic screen appeared in front of her, and she started punching in numbers.
“Woah, cyborg Twilight,” Dash said moving over to the Mecha-Twilight, poking one of her wings with a talon, “What messed you up so badly?”
Mecha-Twilight chuckled. “Not a ‘cyborg’ exactly, as the bits of flesh that remain alive in me are decaying quite rapidly...” She mumbled under her breath, continuing to punch away at the screen. She lit her horn and a map came up in the center of the room, multiple pinpoints of light appearing throughout. “Seems I’m in the right universe.” She frowned.
Meanwhile, Jason’s Twilight’s mouth was still on the floor. “Wha- How- Wha-” Twilight tried time and time again to form words.
Mecha Twilight noticed her and waved. “Oh, hello me! We’ve probably just destroyed about four point two billion oh one other universes by coming into contact with each other just now, but that’s okay. They were Equestrias made out of cheese... for some reason.” Twilight blew a lock of mane out of her face and deadpanned. “I’ll never understand some of these sysadmins...”
“I’m sorry to tell you wrong, cyborg,” Hel said, leaning on the wall. “There are no sysadmins here, Yggdrasil doesn’t need them and the last one that tried to interfere... I believe his corpse has been feeding the tree for a few million years.”
“Oh, not here.” Twilight smiled. “There are sysadmins all throughout the multiverse... and one of them decided it would be a good idea to make an Equestria... out of cheese.” Twilight sighed. “Several of them, actually.” She perked up. “But that’s beside the point, do any of you know where Nemesis is? I need to speak with him.”
“Twilight, pick your jaw up off the floor,” Jason commented, pulling away from his father. “It’s very unbecoming of you. As for Nemesis, he’s around, I needed to give him something before he left.”
"Left? But he needs to stay for the wedding!" Gilgamesh pouted.
“Wedding? I– Oh! Gilgamesh!” Mecha suddenly shot forward and embraced the armored warrior in a hug. “It’s so good to see you again!”
"Whuh?" the warrior asked in confusion. "Wait, are you Nemmy's Twilight? Holy Faust, what happened to you!?"
Twilight disengaged from the warrior, frowning a bit. “To make a long story short, Ellura attacked Ponyville with some B.O.W.s, I got bitten, and another displaced had to take some... drastic measures to keep the virus from spreading, and keep me alive.”
"Oh, you poor thing," he sighed. "Ugh. So many places where I could've helped if it wasn't for the damn war."
“I’ll be fine. Thanks to Nemesis and the rest of my friends, I’m able to go on.” She smiled at him. “Oh! I almost forgot! Give me a second...” She stuck her robotic tongue out of her mouth in concentration as her horn glowed, sparking with electricity. With another hole tearing in the air, a purple, humming gemstone appeared next to Twilight.
“I never got the chance to thank you for sending us all those apples, it meant a lot to me. To us.” Twilight levitated the gem towards Gilgamesh. “I made this for you, it’s a gem made from harvesting the power of an especially powerful B.O.W., I’m not entirely certain how it works, but as far as I know it’ll make you... “ she smiled. “Adapt.”
"Adaptational survivability?" he asked before taking the jewel. "Nice! That'll come in handy, considering I'm universe hopping right now. No idea what I'll come across." He then made a slight bow. "I greatly appreciate it, and I'm glad I could help even in a small way." He then opened up his chest plate and implanted the jewel into his torso, which sparked for a moment. "Ooh! Tingly." The jewel hummed loudly before it flashed, and when the light dimmed, Gilgamesh’s entire body was made out of a reflective, black material.
“Anti-magical obsidian.” Twilight grinned, demonstrating by firing a blast at him. It impacted on Gilgamesh, only for the blast to sink into his body, then glow with the humming sound continuing on, not showing any sort of damage.
"Awesome! Not sure how I feel about the look, though." He the concentrated and his body returned to its normal composition, aside from the jewel in his chest. "Oh good. I don't know how Luna would feel about kissing a gem."
“You know, if you guys had called me, you wouldn’t have needed the upgrades, Twilight,” Jason said, looking at her. “I was infected by the T-Virus as well.”
Mecha-Twilight looked over at Jason. “It was kind of a panicked moment, we weren’t really thinking rationally.” Twilight frowned. “A bunch of Displaced had just left, then another Displaced fell from the sky and he was there to offer help, we never really got the chance to summon another.” Mecha-Twilight sighed. “But like I said, I’m over it. Ellura still has a strong hold on Canterlot, we’re ready to fight for it but we need Nemesis back first.”
“Well, these will come in handy then,” Jason said, pulling two vials out of his pocket. “Catch,” he said, tossing them to her, “The first one is a sample of my blood and the second is a T-Virus vaccine, synthesised by the Omnitrix.” He paused, pulling a strange looking gun out of his pocket, “If Brainstorm and Grey Matter are right, this should revert any B.O.W’s to their uninfected state.”
Twilight stared at the vial in her hooves, her face stricken in awe. “You’re... you’re kidding... this will fix everything! Oh my gosh I can’t thank you enough!”
The sound of closing doors called the group’s attention behind them, and Nemesis stood there. His trenchcoat was burned, almost completely fallen away as well as cuts and bruises all over his body. He glanced between everyone there, his eye color changing from red to white.
...I missed something again, didn’t I?
"Just your Twi telling us that you're gonna retake Canterlot, and she gave me a super adaptability gem," Gilgamesh replied. "Fuck happened to you?"
The one she created from Majora? Nemesis glanced back towards Twilight, who waved sheepishly. So that’s what you were using it for.
Twilight grinned.
As for what happened... we would be here for hours if I tried to explain it all. Nemesis gave a tired sigh. All you need to know, is that after a bit of convincing and some ass kicking, Celestia is on our side. Ellura has declared the rulers of the country dead, and tried to kill us all in a massive attack on Ponyville. Yes, another one. Celestia tried to kill me, Twilight intervened, some feels were had, and now I’ve got a robotic arm. Nemesis flexed his arm. Anymore you’d like to know?
Gilgamesh looked shocked. "Uh, actually meant why you looked so banged up right now, but damn. Do they really have enough sway to convince Equestria the Princesses are dead?"
They’re not trying to sway anybody anymore. Nemesis snarled. It’s obey or die, pretty much. Nemesis shook his head. As for what happened out there, some asshole going on about Jason attacking him. Talked about getting rid of all of us. I took him on, he had some sort of influence that caused the ‘real’ Nemesis to resurface again. I nearly lost myself in a bloodthirsty rage, took a few minutes to calm down after being set on fire, but I’m good now. I sent the bastard flying away farther than Team Rocket. Nemesis looked over towards Team Rocket. No offense.
Sarah waved the comment off, “None taken.”
Jason stared at Nemesis, his fists clenched. He threw his head back, letting out a scream of rage that knocked everyone back a bit from a blast of wind. He took a breath, clearing his throat, ”Sorry about that. Now, Nem. here. This thing should turn any B.O.W. you shoot it with back into whatever it used to be. Not a 100% on it so be careful,” Jason said, holding the gun out to him.
Nemesis took it, admiring the weapon. You’re kidding me. A cure for the t-virus? How did you even get this? I thought the t-virus was incurable.
“Hey, both Grey Matter and Brainstorm helped make that thing, of course I may have stolen the idea from those guns that cured the DNAliens but same principle... or it could mutate them worse, like I said, be careful when using it,” Jason stressed with a sigh.
I... you... Nemesis slipped on his Genji Gloves before walking over to Jason, picking him up, and giving him a massive bear hug. With all the bone crushing force that implied.
“Hey you’re welcome... you’re my friend, its no biggie. Though you don’t have to worry about infecting me. What did you call it... Majora? It did that last time when you were here. That vaccine I gave your Twilight? Made from my blood.”
Nemesis set jason down. It infected you? Why didn’t you tell me?! I don’t know what I could’ve done but I could’ve done... Nemesis hesitated. ...something!
“I went into a three day coma and... stuff happened... mostly a genocidal rebellion, but,” Jason said, hoping to change the topic, “I take it you're not staying?”
Nemesis glanced back to mecha-Twilight, who simply shook her head.
No, I can’t. My Equestria still needs me, and until I finish Ellura once and for all, it will keep needing me. If we can stop them at Canterlot, they’ll only have one place left to go. Then we can finish them off there. Nemesis shrugged. Then I owe all of you a drink. Good ones, too.
“Hey it’s no biggie,” Jason said holding his hand out, “You got important things to do. Thanks for the help and remember, if you need help, call me.”
Anytime. Nemesis chuckled and shook Jason’s hand in return. He turned to Gilgamesh. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly thank you for all that you’ve done for me and my universe, Gilgy.
Gilgamesh smiled and nodded. "Believe me pal, I'd like to come help you, but," he extended his hand. "Somehow, it feels like something you need to settle yourself. What will do you do after it’s done?"
Nemesis blinked then glanced off back towards the Crystal Empire. I honestly can’t say that I know. I haven’t thought about it. He looked back towards Gilgamesh. Becoming a regular human again would be my top priority of course but... returning home? After all the friends I’ve made in Equestria? I’m torn. He heard Twilight gasp behind him, before he shook Gilgamesh’s hand. Then he jerked the warrior forward into a quick hug, stepping off soon after. Not used to being so sentimental... Nemesis grumbled.
"Hey man, if there's anything the past year has taught me its to cherish everyone you know like you'll never see them again. I just hope that won't be your case." He smiled again. "Even if you go human and go back to your Earth, I'll still try to pay you a visit."
Nemesis nodded, smiling a bit as he stepped towards Twilight. Twilight levitated up off the floor, opening another portal. Nemesis paused, turning to face Team Rocket. We don’t know each other very well, but if you need me, he tossed them his summoning token. Don’t be afraid to call in for help. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.
Meowth looked at the token, before reaching for his gem, “Hey Nemesis, catch.” Summoning out a copy of their token, he tossed it towards Nemesis, “Call us, if you need us.”
“Wobbuffet!!!” The blob saluted, agreeing with Meowth’s statement.
Nemesis caught the token, tucking it into his trench coat before nodding. Will do. He gave one last wave. I’ll keep you all in my thoughts. Then stepped through the portal, and vanished.
Twilight lingered for just a moment. “Goodbye everypony! Oh,” She flew over to Jason’s Twilight. “If Rainbow Dash offers you flying lessons on your 21st birthday, do not accept it.” With that, she squee’d and darted back through the portal, vanishing from sight as well.
“Ok, so I know for a fact that you guys are staying for the wedding,” Jason said, looking at the other Displaced, “Wait... anyone seen Ben?” he asked, looking around.
And just as he asked that, a blur slammed into the ground not too far from them. As the dust dissipated, Rath was standing on the now cracked crystal with a Valkyrie in his grasp.
"You bore Rath!" the tiger shouted before tossing away his opponent. "Who else is there for Rath to destroy?"
“Oh, there you are dear,” Hel said, looking at the valkyrie, “Have fun?”
“Shut up, Hel,” she said getting to her feet, spitting out some blood.
“He should time out at any moment,” Jason said, standing his ground.
“LISTEN UP, UNNECESSARILY ANGRY CAT! GILGAMESH CHALLENGES YOU! GILGAMESH WILL NOT FALTER AGAINST YOUR INCESSANTLY LOUD VOICE!” the warrior shouted back, posing dramatically.
Rath looked at Gilgamesh for a moment before snorting and turning away. "Not worth Rath's time." He walked away and decided to just demolish a nearby building with a single hit.
“Are you kidding me?” Gilgamesh asked aloud.
“Please don’t do that, I rather like the scenery,” Hel said, backhanding the raging cat and sending him tumbling away.
He quickly regained his footing and in a flash slammed his fist into her face, shooting her high into the castle. "No one backhands Rath, ya undead bitch!"
“D’aww, is the kitty angry?” Hel asked, rising out of the shadows behind him. “I think I may have struck a nerve,” she said, her smirk never leaving her face.
"Rath is always angry! Rath is Rath! Rath is the strongest there is! Rath will destroy all!"
“Ha! You have nothing on Surt, kitty cat,” Hel taunted, laughing. “You couldn’t destroy your way out of your litter box.”
Rath slammed his fist into the ground, sending off a seismic wave that shook the whole of the empire, buildings collapsing all around them as the streets broke apart. "Rath will kill everything!!"
“Oh I’ve had enough of this,” Hel said, sounding rather annoyed. “If you want to destroy something, why don’t you go to Muspelheim? I heard the natives were talking smack about you,” she said, conjuring up a portal.
"You think you can get rid of Rath?" He disappeared in a flash to several feet away. "Rath goes when Rath wa–" At that moment, the Omnitrix began to sound off, running low on power.
“About fucking time,” Jason said with a sigh of relief, shaking his head.
Rath growled darkly. "Let me tell you somethin' Omnitrix, you are a piece of shit! And you all!" He pointed to the ponies, Displaced, and assorted others. "You may have survived this time, but when Rath is free again... Rath will kill you all and feast on your remains!"
“Sure you will, asshole. Now go back from being a jerk to slightly less of a jerk,” Gilgamesh commented.
"You are not allowed to speak to Rath, you pussy little shit!!" He snarled at Gilgamesh. "You are an insult to fighters! Rath wouldn't even leave your carcass for the buzzards!"
“Oh just go back into your damn watch, your voice is a poor mockery of Macho Man Randy Savage,” Hel said, rolling her eyes.
Rath got in one more growl before his transformation timed out. Ben stood for a moment with his head hung before falling to his knees. His entire body was shaking and appeared to be muttering something.
“Hey Ben, you alright? You just got off a Rath trip,” Gilgamesh explained.
“Give him some space... and don’t let him see what Rath broke,” Jason muttered to them all, ‘You need me to use any cure spells B?”
Ben didn't say a word, just shaking and muttering. They couldn't tell anything was wrong until Twilight spoke up.
"Uh, Jason?" She pointed to below Ben, and Jason's eyes followed to see water dripping from his face.
“Oh geez,” Jason said, kneeling down in front of Ben, “Hey B, snap out of it.”
“If he’s worried about any deaths, no one died,” Hel called, getting a glare from Jason.
His arms shakily grabbed Jason's shoulders. "Is it true?" Ben whispered. "Please, Jason. Please tell me I didn't kill anyone."
“If Hel says no one died, no one died,” Jason said, looking into his eyes, “It was just some structural damage,” Jason gave him a smile before turning to the others, ‘“Look, its been a long night guys, why don’t we all head to the castle and worry about everything tomorrow?”
“That sounds good to me,” Twilight said with a tired sigh. “Wait... where’s Trixie?” she asked, looking toward where the mare had been laying, only to find a discarded alicorn amulet.
“We’ll send search parties out in the morning,” Cadance assured her.
“Twi, when we find her, I think you should talk to her,” Gilgamesh said. “I don’t know about yours, but my Trixie admired you, even when she was a higher rank. I think you can help her here, too.”
“We’ll worry about it in the morning,” Jason said. He picked up the amulet and tossed it to Celestia. She caught it in her magic and nodded to him. “I just want to sleep...” With that the group moved into the castle, exhausted from their great battle.
Out in the middle of the tundra, Don lied unconscious in the snow. As he lay there, shadowy wisps slinked along the ground, sliding around his head and seeming to soak in slowly. Don gritted his teeth and turned, as if having a nightmare before the shadows were gone and he snapped his eyes open, sitting straight up.
“What the- agh!” He flinched, feeling where his ribs had been bruised by Nemesis. “That fucking sack of... Nightmare, is the virus that... thing nearly infected us with gone?”
“Not gone,” she quipped in his mind. “I managed to contain it and keep it from spreading. Removing it is going to take a lot more than either of us have at the moment.”
Don sighed. “Great.” He glanced back towards the crystal buildings, the sounds of battle no longer echoing over the hills. “Guess the fight is over. Damn. Here I was hoping we would get to make another ally.” With a snap of his fingers, a portal ripped open next to him and he stood up. He took one more glance back at where the heroes now were before stepping in. “We’ll need all the help we can get.”