Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

A Wound Beyond Death

Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen: A Wound Beyond Death
~BlackRoseRaven

“What a journey it's been!” Loki said with a sigh, throwing his arms out with a smile before he skipped forward to the edge of the runic circle, leaning forwards on the tips of his toes but never crossing the invisible barrier as he winked over at Thanatos, while his Primordials slithered eagerly behind him. “Centuries, heck, eons of deception and planning, all leading up to this moment! The best part? I didn't plan this at all! I just came in by the seat of my pants, and now I'm going to... steal your pants... and...”

Loki paused, then he rubbed awkwardly at his cheek. “Okay, that didn't come out great. Let me try again.”

He took a breath, steadying himself, then he posed dramatically, pointing at Thanatos as he declared: “You tried to hide this from me, but I figured it out and I figured you out, and... hey, are you even listening to me? Hey! What are you doing?”

Thanatos ignored Loki as he stormed towards him, cutting straight through the runic circle on the ground, and Loki looked flabbergasted before he straightened and shouted angrily, as he pointed up at Thanatos: “Hey, I'm giving a dramatic monologue here, you have to wait your turn before-”

Thanatos continued to stride forward until Loki's finger was poking into his breast, and then the God of Death simply slammed a savage haymaker down into Loki with such force that he seemed to vanish as he was punched straight down through the foot-thick stone floor. All present gaped for a moment before one of the Primordials lunged wildly at Thanatos, but the snake-headed god simply swung his fist out, smashing the gemstone beast into shards before he made a disdainful flick in the direction of the other Primordial, and the flames that covered its body whiffed out all at once, the creature's eyes rolling up on its head before it collapsed with a guttural death rattle.

“Get out.” Thanatos said, pointing at the Voidborn, and there was a thrum of energy before the doors were flung open, and the Voidborn were sent hurtling out of the room by a torrent of power before the doors slammed shut on them.

Thanatos snorted, then without looking back, he said coldly: “Loki is using the chaos energy being released with the deaths of his Primordials to bypass the barrier.”

“Oh, not just that, no. See, the more holes I punch in that giant soul furnace, the more it futzes up your world's physics, too. Well, that and the bit of Swan's blood that was left in that old tomb of hers... I didn't want to hurt her with it, lucky her. I just wanted to be know where she is. Because half the time wherever she is, happens to be just where I want to be.” Loki said conversationally as he strolled up behind Cadence's team and amiably dropped his hands on Moonflower and La Croix's shoulders, smiling pleasantly as the two froze up and Cadence snarled over her shoulder at the trickster.

But Loki was unfazed, continuing easily: “See, Thanatos is a god, but a world like this? Whole lot more than just a parallel dimension or anything. You need a great big battery to power the 'his will be done' machine that keeps all the rules in place. But when you drop enough rocks on a balloon, it starts to leak, and eventually it goes flaccid. And if you can't get it up, what good are you, really?”

Loki waggled his eyebrows pointedly, and then he squawked and leapt backward when Cadence suddenly spun around and leapt at him. He danced away on his toes when she leapt after him, then shouted a series of swears when he grabbed her by the face and held her at a distance with one hand as he snatched the books out of her psychic grip with the other, asking mockingly: “And what are these? Swan, these books don't have pictures! They're far too complicated for-”

Thanatos appeared behind Loki, and the trickster visibly paled as the God of Death's claws settled on his shoulders before he began to pull-

Loki gasped in pain, then he teleported away and reappeared with a snarl, the books hitting the ground in front of Thanatos. The God of Death picked these up and flung them moodily over to Sombra, who caught them calmly as Thanatos said shortly: “Don't play his games. He's stalling. Kill him before more Primordials arrive.”

“Gosh, you and Hecate are just perfect for each other, aren't you?” asked Loki crankily, before he winced and slapped a blast of white fire away, then he caught Cadence with telekinesis when she tried to jump at him, violently spinning her like a top before he launched her across the room like a cannonball.

Cadence hit the wall hard as Loki grinned, then he yelped and twisted sideways when a beam of black light shot at him, narrowly avoiding being sliced by the laser as Moonflower shouted: “Leave her alone, you... you bully!”

“Hey! I'm trying to-” Loki flicked a finger out to deflect a bottle that came flying at him, before he leapt into the air with a squawk to balance precariously between several blades of black crystal that ripped out of the ground beneath him. “-fix everything!”

Loki created a fireball and flung it sharply at Moonflower, who barely managed to create a shield in time to protect himself from the worst of the blast, even as the force of the explosion knocked him skidding backwards. La Croix turned ethereal to try and avoid the blast, but the moment he stepped out of reality, something seized him and flung him violently upward, forcing him back into the physical world before he gargled as he was slammed into the high roof, then launched straight down.

He crashed to the ground with a tremendous crack as Loki cackled, before he blinked dumbly as Sombra emerged from the crystal beneath him like it was made of water, looping ropes of light around Loki's ankles before he yanked down, and the trickster squawked as he was jerked down through the rippling crystal.

A moment later, Loki was flung out of the floor in front of Thanatos, who caught him by the throat with one hand before the other seized him by the skull. Loki screamed in pain as his whole body began to steam, kicking out uselessly as he grabbed at Thanatos' wrist.

Thanatos bared his fangs as he leaned forward, crushing down harder and harder on Loki's head, before the trickster suddenly flared with power. There was a flash, and the sound of magic cutting the air, before Loki flung himself backwards as Astra writhed around his body, and Thanatos staggered in the other direction before he caught himself and looked down with a grimace at the smoking stump of his wrist.

His claw twitched slowly on the ground, and Thanatos snorted before he reached down and picked it up, then simply plugged it back into his wrist with all the ease of putting on a glove, flexing his fingers slowly as Loki growled through the scorch-marks on his face: “Don't make me get serious. You wouldn't like me when I'm serious.”

Astra burned off Loki in a multitude of colors, and Thanatos smiled thinly before he whistled sharply, and Loki didn't have so much as a chance to blink before half a dozen Reapers appeared around him, slamming scythes into him from all angles. Loki howled in pain, before his eyes widened in horror as the Astra dissolved across his body, wriggling uselessly against the scythe blades pierced through him as Thanatos said contemptibly: “The powers of the Prime won't help you here, boy.”

“Boy?” Loki snarled, grasping at the scythes struggling to hold him in place as Thanatos began to approach. His trickster facade fell away as he twisted back and forth, clearly not feeling the horrific wounds the weapons tore in his body as he shouted furiously, eyes blazing with hate and bitterness: “Boy! Is that all I am to you, Thanatos? You worthless, wretched old snake-king, your minions and their toys can't hold me forever!”

“They'll hold you just long enough.” Thanatos retorted as he approached, and Loki snarled before the God of Death said coldly: “I know you're immune to my powers. Your body is just a shell.”

Thanatos seized into Loki's hair, yanking his head forcefully back before he grasped him by the throat with his other hand, which began to glow eerily, and Loki gritted his teeth in pain, his body twitching before he clenched his eyes shut as Thanatos continued icily: “So I'll break your shell open, and siphon out the Astra you're trying to contain to-”

Loki suddenly grasped the necks of the scythes closest to him, twisting viciously to snap them both, and the Reapers who had been holding the weapons both collapsed into dust with cries of pain and surprise. It freed Loki's arms enough that he was able to seize Thanatos, but this time he didn't push him away, but instead yanked him in.

The scythe blades buried through Loki's body tore into Thanatos, and the God of Death gasped before he shoved himself backwards, but too late: his front had already been torn open by the blades of the scythes, the Reapers twitching-

Loki twisted his body violently, ripping himself free of two of the scythes and yanking the other two Reaper around in a circle with him to send them colliding into their allies. They collapsed in piles on either side of him, and Loki grinned as he ripped the scythes free from his body before he spun them around and slammed them both down to either side, piercing the piled-up Reapers. They spasmed helplessly, and soon enough collapsed into nothing but shreds of cloth and metal masks.

Loki flexed his fingers slowly as he approached Thanatos, growling: “Stupid of you to give your dolls weapons that can hurt even you.”

Without looking back, Loki snapped his fingers, blasting Cadence with a tremendous explosion of force that knocked her crashing onto her back and sent her skidding into her father. She groaned in pain, her mind reeling before she kicked herself back up to her hooves, but Danzsöngr caught her before she could rush forward, the Swan saying quietly: “Thanatos has asked us not to interfere.”

“I don't care!” Cadence shouted, and she shoved herself away from her father to charge again, but Loki again didn't bother to even look back as he flicked his wrist, repelling her with another blast of power before he snorted in irritation and snapped his fingers when Moonflower sent a blast of gravity at him.

The blast of magic was dispelled before Moonflower burst into flames, screaming in pain as he staggered back and forth, and La Croix winced as he turned to bolt towards the stallion. Loki grinned, but he never once took his eyes off Thanatos, even as he commented: “Horse was one of my favorites during the feast days. Nothing tastes better than food made with love, right?”

Thanatos calmly stepped backward into the runic circle in the center of the room, and Loki narrowed his eyes before he gave a crooked grin, pointing at the edge of the circle as he mocked: “Do you really think that I can't-”

“You can't.” Thanatos said shortly, and Loki narrowed his eyes before his eyes widened in surprise when Thanatos stomped on one of the runes himself, shattering it. But in a flicker of light, it immediately wove itself back together above the broken floor. “I wove this circle into reality itself.”

“Oh, I get it. So if I break the circle, I shatter reality, and vice versa. Easy-peasy... except somehow I feel like you've booby-trapped it some other way, too.” Loki studied the edge of the circle, and then his eyes flicked up as he gave a strange smile, asking softly: “Do you think it'll be strong enough to vaporize me, though?”

Thanatos only scowled at him, and Loki studied the God of Death for a few moments before he smiled eerily. “But we won't have to find out.”

Thanatos frowned, and then he grunted in surprise as the shard of Loki pulsed violently, a blast of force knocking him stumbling forward before he could catch himself-

Loki caught Thanatos as he fell over him, and there was silence for a moment before Thanatos grimaced and clenched his eyes shut as he leaned against the entity, who supported him gently with one hand against his shoulder, while the other glistened with the blood and energy of the old god as more crimson flowed down the arm that had punched completely through his body.

Thanatos gave a soft breath, and Loki chuckled before he stepped backwards, yanking his arm free from Thanatos. The old god fell to his knees, clutching at the massive hole through his torso, teeth grit as Loki seized him by the face and pushed his head up so he could glare into his eyes. “Is this really the best you can do? Well, don't worry, Thanatos. When I bring you back as part of my Jarsongildi, you'll get a fresh start, a fresh chance, a whole fresh hell.”

“This is what you are up against. Not Loki, no. Loki was never like this.” Thanatos said quietly, and Cadence shivered a little as she picked herself up. “This is something worse. More than Loki, more than the Prime; less than a man, too.”

“What do you know about me? Look at me, Thanatos, look into my eyes and tell me-”

“You're not important.” Thanatos said contemptibly, and Loki reared back in disbelief before he gasped in shock as Thanatos roughly slapped him aside like a child, knocking the mighty Prime sprawling before the God of Death snapped his fingers.

Cadence stumbled, then caught herself before she realized she and her team were inside the circle of runes, Thanatos shaking his head slowly before he glanced over his shoulder and said tiredly: “Destroy it. This is all we can do now.”

“No!” Loki snarled, leaping to his feet before his body swirled with color and power, transforming into the impossible, iridescent Prime to seize Thanatos and heft him above his head as he tripled in size, roaring: “Surrender, or I will destroy this whole world!”

“He will kill me, kill this world, kill all of you anyway. Destroy the shard of his soul.” Thanatos said calmly, looking back over his shoulder. He ignored Loki even as he was slammed down to the ground and the giant Prime stomped a foot on his head, crushing it down into the floor as Cadence and Danzsöngr stared at the God of Death.

Thanatos didn't so much as acknowledge Loki, only looking evenly back at Cadence before he said quietly: “Destroy it. It is within your power to. Don't worry about me.”

“No!” Loki snarled, then he picked up Thanatos by the neck, holding him tantalizingly over the invisible barrier as he said, suddenly calm, pleasant, alluring: “Here. I'll put him down inside the barrier. Where I can't go. All you have to do is give me the shard. And I'll give him up. Imagine that, having the God of Death indebted to you... and not under my control.”

Loki let the implication of his words sink in, his glowing, Astra-wrapped body thrumming, before he frowned as Thanatos laughed shortly, saying coldly: “He lies. He obfuscates. I am dying, and he knows it. But Loki, I will never serve you.”

“Yes, I've heard that before. But even Melinda bent to my will.” Loki growled, but Thanatos only snorted in disgust. “Your will might be strong, Thanatos, but all that means is that you will survive in the Void-”

“I have no intention of going to the Void. Yes, my will is strong. Stronger than you realize.” Thanatos retorted contemptibly, before he turned his eyes to Cadence, saying quietly: “The strong-willed do not just live and survive. The strong-willed can travel beyond death. Because all of you seem to be forgetting that the Void is not the end of the journey. It's just another stop in the great cycle.”

Thanatos calmly closed his eyes, and they all felt Loki's surprise as the God of Death began to glow, Loki shaking his head vehemently before he shouted in frustration when Thanatos began to dissolve into motes of energy. “No! No! I will not be robbed of my prize!”

Loki lost his grip on Thanatos as his entire body glowed beautiful blue, the Prime blinded by it as he staggered backwards, then grabbed uselessly, helplessly at the dissolving God of Death, Thanatos' voice echoing around them with... pity, Cadence realized. He was cold, and harsh, but Cadence heard the pity in the core of her soul: “Look at what you've become, Loki. Look at yourself, at what these schemes and plans have made you. And be thankful there's someone willing to put you out of your misery.”

Thanatos dissolved completely as Loki slashed out in useless rage at the remaining motes of energy, but all he managed to do was scatter them to the air. He stumbled forward, then snarled as his Astra blazed with hate and rage and humiliation, roaring: “I'll bring this whole world crashing down if I have to! I will not be denied!”

The shard of Loki's soul pulsed in response, and Cadence swore as a pulse of power pushed at her and her team, shouting: “Everyone, hold on!”

She turned and sprinted towards the shard, then gasped in pain when a wave of force slammed into her. It knocked her skidding backwards, but she recovered and ran forward again, and this time she was joined by her father, who caught her and pushed her forward when the shard released another pulse.

They skidded back together, but a shorter distance this time: a moment later, they were joined by La Croix and Moonflower, who both grabbed onto Cadence, pushing her forward as Moonflower concentrated his magic into a barrier that deflected the worst of the thrums of power from the soul shard as they pushed towards it.

Behind them, Loki roared with fury, his power making the walls quake, the whole cathedral trembling with his rage as he uselessly flung blasts of Astra and magic against the invisible barrier. Rips formed in the fabric of reality around him, and Husks and Primordials both erupted out of these, but they were repelled by the barrier or vaporized by shocks of energy the moment they stepped over the ring of runes, as Loki shouted in desperation: “Keep her back! Keep her back! Stop her!”

The soul shard glowed furiously, then released a shockwave of power that shattered Moonflower's magic shield and knocked Sombra, Moonflower, and La Croix away. But Cadence anchored herself, pressing forward even as her Third Eye shattered, and she could swear she felt the shard calling to her, as much as it was trying to push her back-

Another pulse ripped through the air and knocked her rearing back, but instead of flying off her hooves, she was caught by Danzsöngr, who braced her against the eruption of force from the soul shard before she half-flung Cadence as the mare pushed off the ground with all her strength.

Her hoof burst into white flame before she slammed it down into the shard of soul, and Cadence saw

(a young boy, laughing

smiling

happy

a sacrifice

bleeding, dying, laying on the ground in the grip of a monster

but smiling

happy

a young boy, reaching out with bloody hands, accepting death

a young boy

who was so scared

but not anymore

because he was no longer lost

because he was no longer afraid

because the answer was here

the answer was here

salvation is here

freedom

escape

he dies

but the tentacles lose their grip

the monster screams

a young boy

who dies

and smiles

because he dies as himself

and the swan chases the darkness away

as it was always meant to do

as it had done since the old days

its song echoing through)

Tuonela.

Cadence gasped, and then she was blown backwards as the shard of soul shattered, seared by the blast of raw energy.

Loki screamed, arching his back as the Astra burning over him roiled violently upward, becoming a bright candle of energy for a moment before he staggered backward as the Astra whiffed out around him. His eyes rolled wildly in his head, his body spasming, his head shaking violently, and then he snarled in fury as tears rolled down his cheeks.

He stumbled back a step, then fell to his knees, rasping for breath as Cadence slowly picked herself up. The world trembled for a moment more, but there was silence apart from the uneasy shifting and fidgeting of the Primordials and the Voidborn, and the rumbles of the continuing combat outside, but all that was unimportant, as the Swan and the Prime looked at one another.

“This war isn't over yet.” Loki whispered, before he slowly straightened, his eyes glowing with rage as he growled: “Summon the Ahriman. Aim the Godhammer directly at the soul furnace. Punch a hole in it.”

“The... World Without End will be entirely destroyed, along with everyone not aboard the Ahriman! Even-” And then the Voidborn that Cadence vaguely recognized as Swiftly Wing squealed when Loki seized her by the throat and hauled her into the air.

“I know!” he shouted, and then he gave a sick smile as he cooed: “That's why I staffed my armies with traitors, cowards, and animals. I don't have to feel bad when I have to cut a few loose.”

Swiftly choked for a moment, then she screamed when he threw her face-first into the ground, bouncing backwards and scrabbling hurriedly to her hooves away from Loki like a slinking dog as the trickster gave a wild laugh, grinning cruelly over at Cadence as he snapped: “You've stopped nothing. That shard was the only thing stopping me from simply blowing up this whole world! One shot from the Ahriman, and everything will be consumed in nuclear fire, including all the soldiers that Hecate sent here. Including you, Swan, and I don't think even you can come back from a blast this big.”

Cadence gritted her teeth, and Loki smiled thinly before he took a deep bow, saying kindly: “But don't worry. I'll save a special place for you when I absorb all that energy. We'll pretend you can be my pinky toe or something, how about that? Or maybe part of my left buttcheek. The weird shaped one.”

Loki poked himself in the rump, then he popped up to his feet, but there was something different about him: his grin showed too much teeth, his eyes were too wide, his fingers frenetically flexing and tapping together as he moved around. He seemed unhinged, Cadence thought, as she watched him coldly.

He was so impossibly powerful still. So wild, so mad. So bitter, and so driven. He had killed the God of Death in front of her without even using his Prime powers: he knew things, like how the Reapers could affect his Astra, something that Cadence hadn't even realized. And she felt like... “Why were you here?”

Loki came to a stop, cocking his head, and Cadence asked again: “Why were you here? It was for more than these things. I know that. I... almost saw it.”

No, not almost saw: she could almost see. The contact with Loki's shard had given her something, some insight into him, let her gaze into his Astra in a way she hadn't been able to do before without being blinded. The Prime was powerful, incredible, terrifying... but it no longer seemed insurmountable and suffocating to her. She could almost, almost understand...

Loki smiled, and then he spread his arms as a portal formed behind him: immediately, Swiftly Wing bolted into this fearfully, and several other Voidborn hurried to it as well as Loki announced pleasantly: “You'll find out... but only if you manage to survive. My next target is the last thing standing between me and my plans being completed... the place where your so-called Empress was nice enough to gather all my enemies for me, while she sits back and relaxes on her tin throne. After this... I'll be powerful enough to attack. And you? You won't be able to stop me. Not even if you did...”

Loki grinned, then he flicked his wrist, two books appearing in his hand out of thin air. Sombra flinched in surprise at this as Moonflower grabbed at his satchel stupidly, and Loki winked before the books burst into flames and charred rapidly away to ash, saying contemptibly: “I'm over old stories. You shouldn't listen to them, either. You might find some truth in them, Swan. And that would be far worse for you than it would be for me.”

Cadence remained silent, and Loki studied her intently for a moment before he clicked his tongue and gave her a little wave. “Well, toodles! But don't worry, Danzsöngr. It'll all be over, very soon!”

Loki laughed as he slipped through the portal, and Moonflower grimaced before he blurted out: “We have to do something!”

“How? If you ain't noticed...” La Croix gestured beyond the circle, at the Primordials who seemed strangely excited, if anything: they were of every shape and size, fearless of their oncoming destruction. If anything, they seemed eager for it. Just like the other Primordials had been, Cadence reflected silently: but maybe that was part of it, part of the ultimate endgame, and they thought this meant they would be whole again when their energy was absorbed by the Prime.

But Cadence felt strangely calm and in control as she weighed her options, before she did the only thing she could think of. She reached out, pulling her teammates in close in a tight embrace, bowing her head before she closed her eyes as she felt Danzsöngr hug them from the other side, and then both halves of the Swan Maiden murmured: “Hold on.”

She felt the grip of her teammates, her friends, her family, instinctively tighten, and Cadence and Danzsöngr both took a breath before they shifted, and there was a great sensation of vertigo and movement, and...

Moonflower moaned and Sombra shivered as his purifier sparked violently, La Croix wheezing in pain, but Cadence only grimaced slightly before she stumbled backwards and shoved herself up to her hooves. Hecate only seemed a little surprised to see them appear in front of her as Seneschal squawked and shouted: “Dimensional phasing into the control tower is strictly forbidden!”

“Loki is going to kill everyone.” Cadence said simply, and Hecate nodded curtly once before she vanished from sight.

Cadence didn't give herself time to think, taking a breath as the Swan leapt through the Astra for her, making it easier for her to step away from her team, as much as it hurt to do so, and to step back into World Without End. She staggered with a gasp of pain, but she stopped herself from falling as she looked up to the sound of Hecate's voice: “-evacuation! I want everyone to withdraw from World Without End immediately!”

They were in the encampment, Cadence blinking blearily before she winced when Hecate grabbed her, jerking her to face her and studying her intently for a moment before she ordered: “Look for the Ahriman. I need to know where it is, and what we're up against. Find it quickly.”

Cadence opened her mouth, but then she realized that Danzsöngr was already gone, searching across World Without End in such a blaze of speed that it made Cadence's head hurt. She gritted her teeth, closing her eyes as the Astra whipped by, but even though she couldn't sense the Ahriman, she could see Loki now, feel his presence, home in on him...

There. said Danzsöngr, and Cadence shuddered in revulsion as they saw the thing: the hideous, mutant, awful thing that Melinda had called Loki's battleship. And she realized why it had been so difficult to see, even through the Astra: it was impossible to recognize something you had never seen before, after all. Let alone something so alien, so otherworldly, as this.

“I found it. I... I think it's a Terror. It's full of... it's not Astra, it's something else. Something awful. It's like... like the Terror we fought before, but worse. Brainless. Empty. Assimilated.” Cadence said disbelievingly, and then she winced when Hecate grabbed her and shook her roughly back to her senses, before her eyes widened when the Jötnar mare roughly shoved some sort of crystal against her.

“I need you to plant this tracking stone on it. I also need an optic scan so we know what we're up against. Don't let it see you.” Hecate ordered, and her eyes reminded Cadence there was no time to argue: only enough time to do, or to die, as she turned away and shouted: “Cowlick! Divert all power from the weapon batteries and shields into the communications tower! Seneschal, prep EXT protocol now!”

Cadence took a breath as she turned away from Hecate, from the noise, from the crowd, from everything. The Swan both cautioned and soothed her as she did, before Danzsöngr was gone, but only so far away, as Cadence heard her murmur: Here. Now.

Cadence closed her eyes, then stepped through reality: it made her body ache, but it was still much easier to make this relatively-short jump than it had been to cross such a great distance between dimensions.

Cadence stumbled a little, catching herself against a rock formation before she grimaced as she looked up, shivering a little as her eyes locked on the monstrous shape of the Ahriman in the distance. It looked like some kind of gigantic, mottled beetle-fish: small legs paddled the air at its sides, and while its neck looked like it had been modified with some sort of heavy, air-breaking prow, the head was still very clearly the head of the beast.

It rumbled, gills spreading as it swam slowly through the air to make the scales and metal plating that covered the hideous thing shift, and Cadence shuddered a little before she quickly tapped her visor. She looked down at the stone she had almost forgotten about in her hoof, then blinked when Danzsöngr gently took it from her, the Swan saying quietly: “Keep focused. We shall place this on the ship.”

There was no time to argue, and the Swan didn't give her a chance to, either, as she simply vanished from sight with the stone. Cadence grimaced a bit, but forced herself to keep her attention on the ship, tapping a fumbling command on her Mission Drive to begin scanning the hideous Ahriman.

Seneschal appeared with a blip on her visor, the AI grimacing and nervously adjusting his bowtie as he muttered: “Incredible. It's biosynthetic... similar to the way that Tyrant Wyrms are, not cybernetic but rather an inorganic lifeform, for lack of a better term. Energy readings are almost null: we can detect energy being pulled into it, but it's insulated so heavily that we can barely pick up...”

Seneschal broke off, then he grimaced a bit before saying uneasily: “Thermal imaging shows intense hotspots of heat, but again, that... outer shell of the beast suffocates the signals. The spots are growing brighter, though... perhaps if we separate OA-SYS infofeeds...”

Cadence grimaced as her visor flicked through different vision modes, before Seneschal said quickly: “Yes, there! By isolating the magnetic activity, we can detect the ship easily: there's no way for them to hide the flux being generated by the systems beneath the shell-”

Seneschal cut himself off, blurting out: “Coordinates locked! Preparing countermeasures, but... detecting abnormal energy influx! I can't tell how much power it's already generated with the hull shielding it, but it's drawing in so much energy at such a massive rate that-”

Cadence winced, then she leapt backward, and vertigo tore at her senses as the world blurred around her before her rump whacked into a huge figure as she found herself suddenly in the middle of a group of Dogmatists, shouting: “Hecate, that thing is going to fire!”

“I know.” Hecate said shortly, and then she glanced around in distaste before she said coldly: “Things are moving too slow for my liking. Unlock limiters.”

The vents on Hecate's side opened in a gust of steam that nearly knocked Cadence over, the cables over her body sparking and thrumming as Hecate gritted her teeth, her horn flaring with magic for a moment before her eyes glowed like lanterns as she shoved her front hooves out to either side. And then, in a terrible boom and a blink of light, they were gone from World Without End, and instead in the wasteland of Decretum.

No, not just her and Hecate, Cadence saw, as she looked around with disbelief at the sight of what looked like the entire camp, some of the structures included. Tents fell over and towers listed and artillery cannons either tipped or sank in the mucky earth, but Hecate only snorted in contempt before she glanced moodily to the side as Cowlick said dryly: “Great show, bitch. Why didn't you do that to the Ahriman?”

Hecate's gaze fell on Cowlick, and as tough as the demon talked, her legs shook with such violence under that gaze she nearly toppled into the mud as her mouth fell open and her cigarette toppled from her lips. Not that Cadence could blame her: this was the second time she had felt the Jötnar mare's true power, and it made her shudder, feeling stupid that she had thought Hecate was a force to be reckoned with during their duels: this? This was something entirely different. This was something no one could face.

Hecate smiled thinly, then she answered calmly, as the light and the sense of power faded from her body: “That might have been what Loki wanted. I can't stop a blast that powerful, not if I can't see it, not if it functions on a wavelength I'm unfamiliar with. And my powers can't affect the Voidborn as deeply as it does things of this world: I'm limited only by my imagination, but the Terrors are like nothing I've ever imagined.”

Hecate halted, then she watched as Cowlick fumbled out another cigarette, raising it shakily to her lips. Before the demon could light it, Hecate did it for her with a mere touch of her hoof, Cowlick taking a deep inhale and visibly relaxing before Rustproof stepped up beside his mother, gently touching her back as he said quietly to Hecate: “The portals weren't shut down.”

“I know.” Hecate said grimly, and Cadence frowned uneasily at this before she winced when Hecate simply reached out and grabbed her, and then all of a sudden they were at the top of the Tower of Etemenanki, Hecate simply letting Cadence drop to the floor as the Jötnar mare strolled into the bridge of the control room, shouting: “Seneschal! I need a damage update!”

“Twenty-two casualties confirmed, hundreds injured.” Seneschal reported back crisply through the loudspeaker, although he sounded nervous. “We have massive power fluctuations and system failures across Exoterra, and backup systems are failing in the affected Orphanage sectors. Most of Portia's systems are down, so I can't verify anything except through manual scans and reports from emergency crews dispatched to the area. Fires reported in Sector 12 and Sector 18. Abnormal Tyrant Wyrm activity detected in the Holding Facility.”

“What about the T2s?” asked Hecate sharply as she activated the screens around the room, and Cadence looked up uneasily as she noted how many of them were riddled with static and 'Connecting-' symbols.

Seneschal paused for a moment, before he sighed in relief from the speakers and said quickly: “Nonaggressive activity.”

“Good. Activate the White Matter pumps in the T1 Holding Facility. Exterminate them and seal the facility.” Hecate ordered, and Cadence looked up in dumb surprise. “Move the T2s to the surface. I want them used in our defense operations. I want all forces possible drawn from Decretum and Fyrverǫld within twenty hours, and then all portals sealed. I want the data we have on the Ahriman analyzed and a way to isolate its location within one hour.”

“Yes, I... using magnetic-”

“Don't explain it to me. Just do it.” Hecate ordered, and Seneschal nodded hurriedly before the Jötnar mare asked: “Did you plant the tracking device?”

It took Cadence a moment to realize she was being spoken to, and by that time the Swan had appeared by her side, bowing her head politely as she answered: “We hid it in the hide of the Ahriman.”

“Good. Even if they locate it or it ends up being destroyed, it should provide us with enough information to continue to track it.” Hecate tapped across the control panel in front of her, and then she said calmly: “Bring up the feed on screen two from Decretum-2.”

“Uh...” Cadence stared blankly at Hecate for a moment, then she winced at the look she got before she hurriedly spun around and stumbled to the bank of computers that ran around the room, muttering under her breath as she tapped a quick series of commands over the keyboard. She winced when the computer buzzed at her angrily, hurriedly correcting her syntax as she muttered: “Horses of Heaven I hate this stuff.”

“I can implant a microchip in your brain to make it easier for you, if you like.” Hecate said icily, and Cadence winced before she sighed in relief as one of the screens flickered, before she frowned uneasily as she saw- “Yes. Loki's already sent Lost Souls into Decretum, and likely Fyrverǫld as well. Their goal seems to be to disrupt our operations.”

“What do we do?” Cadence asked, and Hecate smiled thinly.

“Continue as planned. All our major operations are focused here in Endworld. Property and drone damage are acceptable losses.” Hecate said coldly, and yet Cadence thought she almost looked haunted, as she gazed into the Empress of Decretum, and not for the first time, realized how cruel a fate it was to be what Hecate had become. “I am what is necessary, that is all. Spare me your ruminations.”

Cadence winced, but Hecate had already turned her attention away, ordering: “Seneschal, redirect the Worker Drones to interference mode. That should help reduce the damage to our forces. Deploy security orbs to tag targets in priority zones and activate Eliminator defenses in all facilities.”

Several screens flickered away from static to display information instead, and Hecate nodded shortly before she returned her eyes to Cadence, saying calmly: “To answer your unspoken question, no, Loki will not simply arrive with the Ahriman and destroy us. Endworld is already disconnected from the chain of worlds, but not close enough to the Void, so to speak, for his disruptor to push us easily into it. Nor do I expect he can maintain a charge and move the Ahriman between worlds at the same time.”

Cadence nodded awkwardly, and then she bit her lip before she blurted: “Thanatos said he was after the Hall of Heroes. We stopped him from getting the soul shard, but... Thanatos tried to give us books, but Loki destroyed them...”

“No. No, he did not.” Danzsöngr said suddenly, and Cadence frowned as Hecate tilted her head, and the Swan vanished for a moment: a moment later, Moonflower appeared with a squeak of shock, looking wildly back and forth before he stared as the Swan reached into his satchel and pulled out a book, saying: “He did not destroy this.”

Hecate took the book from the Swan, floating it up to herself and studying it, recognizing it as the book Thanatos had been reading from when they had met. She opened it, and found it was full of wild scribbling in an ancient runic language across pages that ancient characters had been pressed into.

Hecate smiled faintly as she studied the book, then she read softly: “Childe born to bring pain, to the warrior gods he came; childe, born to dream and defy, rend and rip the world awry; bringeth Ragnarok, the bitter swell, to the place twixt Heaven and Hell; there, find the key to your enigmal lock, who lays bereft of sin before the ticking clock; time can only mend and heal, when the endsong breaks the final seal... childe, childe, when the end draws near, only then will your father hear...”

“What does it mean?” Cadence asked uncertainly, as Moonflower only dropped on his rump, rubbing at his head and looking awkward.

For a moment, Hecate was silent, and then she said finally: “It means Loki is an idiot, and we are almost out of time. Seneschal, ensure all our Orbiters are active and ensure we have maximum coverage of Endworld. Loki will most likely have to bring the Ahriman in from either Decretum or Fyrverǫld...”

“But you think he has some other way in. Some way around the portals.” Cadence said, and Hecate smiled thinly.

“I didn't come this far by being sloppy and assuming the best. I want all our defenses concentrated here.” Hecate hesitated, and then she looked up and ordered: “Seneschal. Put the Hexad facilities and production lines on standby, and divert all that power to preparations for the final stage of Ithavoll. I want it ready.”

Cadence shifted nervously, before she looked up in surprise as the elevator doors opened and Thorn strode in, saying as calmly as if he had been part of the conversation all along: “Empress Hecate, is it truly necessary? I don't think-”

“I want it ready, because it may be necessary.” Hecate rounded on Thorn, stepping towards him, towering over him, and then suddenly smiling as she reached up and silently touched his shoulders, saying quietly: “And in the event that it is necessary, Thorn Blackfeather, only you are authorized to activate it.”

Thorn's eyes widened, and Hecate leaned down and kissed his forehead silently before she murmured: “I trust your judgment more than I do my own. You'll know if and when it becomes necessary, my son. Remember... sometimes sacrifices must be made. Not for the greater good, but for the greatest good that we can do for the world.”

Thorn hesitated, and then he took a slow breath and nodded, promising as he met his mother's eyes: “I will do what is necessary. But... not before it is necessary. There are too many unknowns. It could... destroy us all.”

“Yes. It could.” Hecate turned towards Cadence, saying calmly: “You asked me once if the Orphans were just a temporary measure, to be replaced by Ithavoll. I told you they were not. But I didn't tell you the full truth: the Orphans are not just my first line in protecting this universe. They are also the last line of defense against Ithavoll itself.

“Cadence, Ithavoll is three phases, each more dangerous, more likely to go wrong than the last.” Hecate met Cadence's eyes evenly as she strode back onto the control bridge, looking down at her from that raised platform that was only a little higher than the rest of the hall, and yet she seemed like she was a thousand feet above them, looking down from beyond the red skies of Endworld. “The Orphans are my insurance that if the Hexad had not been purged of the Clockwork King's programming, that if I had lost myself to the powers of the Jötnar, that if the third and final stage and the forces it will bring forth turn on us... there will still be someone there to protect the worlds. More than that: there will be someone who can stop them.”

Cadence mouthed wordlessly as Moonflower stared in disbelief, and then Hecate smiled faintly, saying softly: “You are two of my best, my strongest, the ponies I am proudest of. Children that I've come to love. Worthy inheritors. Ithavoll doesn't exist to replace you. It's a last resort protocol to keep impossibly-powerful enemies like Hel was, like the Mad Hatter could be, like Loki is, at bay. And there's no guarantee it couldn't become an even greater threat, but that's why the Orphans exist. Why we recruit the best, and only the best. Why we make you strong. You are the future of this universe, and you must be ready to protect it.”

Cadence looked silently up at Hecate, and Hecate looked back at her before she returned her eyes to the screens around the room, commanding: “Seneschal, I need updates! Thorn, establish contact with our allies. The large-scale portal hub may have been destroyed by the impulse from World Without End, but we can use the portable portal rings to escort our allies here while the rest of our forces move in through freight transport.”

Thorn nodded as he strode quickly down into the control room, calling up several holographic screens even as he sat down at a terminal, before Hecate ordered: “Cadence, take Moonflower and find the rest of your team to the medical center for rush treatment. Then I want you ready to...”

Hecate halted, then she frowned for a moment before grunting and instead saying shortly: “Your team will be on protection detail at the security facility where Hel is being kept. She'll be a priority target for Loki.”

Cadence wanted to stay, to argue, to panic; instead, she forced herself to salute, nodding firmly once before she grabbed Moonflower and said quickly: “We'll head down immediately.”

Moonflower blinked again, then squawked when Cadence dragged him up the ramp from the control room towards the elevator. The mare hesitated in front of it, however, then she looked back and asked: “Do you think that Brynhild...”

“The Valkyrie has escaped worse, and without that idiotic motorcycle she parades around on. I'm sure she was able to escape in time. You have more important things to focus on.” answered Hecate, and Cadence smiled briefly before she turned around and hit the button to the elevator.

She shoved Moonflower inside and hit the button for the ground floor, the doors closing with a ding as Moonflower awkwardly rubbed at himself, before he looked over at Cadence and asked dumbly: “Did she really say she loved me?”

“Like a son.” Cadence confirmed, and Moonflower gave a small smile before Cadence reached up and squeezed his shoulder gently, saying softly: “And you're like a brother to me.”

Moonflower looked absurdly touched, even as he laughed awkwardly and tried to wave the compliment off, rolling his eyes to the side as he mumbled: “Well, you know, you've... of course I am! Who doesn't want to be a sibling to me, the greatest... magic-caster of... lore and... stuff.”

Moonflower looked lame, before he added awkwardly: “I hope Thorn doesn't see me as a brother. That would be awkward.”

Cadence sighed and rolled her eyes as she gently smacked him, the stallion wincing a little before he gave a small smile and asked: “This is it, isn't it?”

“Yeah. I think this is going to be it. So you have to ready... but don't change who you are, Moonflower. Who you are has saved us more than once.” Cadence said softly, and Moonflower rose his head slightly in surprise before the doors dinged open and Cadence gestured for him to follow. “Come on. Let's go get ready. We've... got a lot to do.”

“But we'll do it, Cadence. I believe in you. And if... Melinda believed in me, and I believe in you, and so many people believed in Melinda, well...” Moonflower smiled, almost childish and endearing in his sincerity as he exclaimed: “Then you can do it, you can do anything!”

“I wouldn't go that far.” Cadence smiled all the same, though, before she glanced up as Danzsöngr gently touched her shoulder, and she said softly: “But together, with both sides of me, you, La Croix and Daddy and all the help we're going to get... we can do this.”

Moonflower nodded firmly, then he trotted ahead as Cadence lingered for a moment in front of the elevator, doing her best not to look back, not to fear the worst...

But in spite of all her hopes and determination, her unanswered questions all still lingered.

Comments

[Randomfastreader]

this is where HOLY SHIT goes to HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!! AND proceeds to go up 100 notches on the holy shit meter until it runs off the end of the scale.
in other terms this is EXTREMELY BAD because if calculations are correct then the system they activated is the SELF DESTRUCT MECHANISIM basically or they just fire EVERYTHING they have at something. either way it be bad.