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Code Oblivion Chapter 5: Battle For Eldra Pt: 2

"I'll do it." Noah said shakily as he stared down the abomination in front of him. The wolf was gagged so he wasn't able to say anything but the look he gave chilled him to the bone. The sheer amount of evil in those eyes made his stomach churn and he was forced to look back towards the white wolf so as not to be looking at the Malefactor. "But how was he able to get into here? I never thought someone as powerful as an Elemental Lord could be possessed or tainted by another being. The Seal is supposed to protect them."

The wolf shook his head and when he spoke, his voice was solemn. "It normally would, but Malefactors are different. They are alien to this reality and they were thought to have been destroyed but someone one survived and the one you see here spawned from that one. Somehow one found their way out of Enria and managed to find their way to Mortaelis itself."

"Enria..." Noah said before he grabbed his head, crying out in pain as he was forced to his knees. It felt like his brain was going to explode as images flashed in his mind so fast he couldn't process it but fast as it came, the pain stopped and he was left panting. He felt bile rush up his throat but he managed to keep it down.

"Are you alright, child?" The white wolf asked in a concerned tone but Noah just gave him a thumbs up as he got back up and stared down at the Malefactor. So many new memories flashed in his head, ones that weren't his own and of people he had never met.

'What the fuck was that? Why do I have these memories, it doesn't make sense! How can I have someone else's memories in my head when I don't even have my own?' He thought to himself as he shook his head. After taking a deep breath he spoke to the wolf. "I understand, they infect people who are filled with the dark emotion they represent. So which one is this Malefactor? Knowing that will help me understand what happened to allow the Commander to fall to its corruption."

"This one is named 'Anxiety'. He took advantage of the extreme stress the Commander was under while preparing for the festival. Once the man was at his weakest he took his chance and overtook Andrew Hart and while under the Malefactor's spell he released the seal on Hydra which freed the monster and thus started the attack on Eldra. He wasn't able to control him for long however, as Hart was able to gain back control and fight back. You'll need to destroy Anxiety, because once he is gone I can unseal the power inside you. With it, you will be able to defeat Hydra." Noah nodded and focused his gaze back at the Malefactor. His baleful glance still shook him a little but it didn't stop him from glaring right back at the beast. He was the one who was responsible for all the death today, the death of his father, Flint's Fiancee and who knows how many other people.

"Alright, but I'll need a weapon unless you want me to take him out with my bare paws?" The wolf just chuckled and summoned up a massive scythe and handed it to Noah who clumsily fiddled with it before finding his footing. The scythe was as big as he was yet somehow it felt light as a feather in his paws.

"This good enough for you?" The white wolf teased and Noah just nodded before glaring down at the Malefactor who struggled against his bindings and snarled through the gag. Closing his eyes, he set the scythe in a striking position and with a determined look he swung it, bisecting the Malefactor. He couldn't help but gag at the blood that went everywhere before it faded as it hit the ground. As the Malefactor itself faded, he started to feel dizzy, losing consciousness with each passing second. He could hear the white wolf give a light chuckle as he faded into darkness with the white wolf's last words resonating with him. "Enjoy the power you have now, it's a very special one." That was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep completely.

...

"Is it a good idea to let him sleep like this?" Flint asked as he went to touch the younger wolf, he and Dolan having managed to calm down a frantic Aidan after hearing that Noah had an idea to somehow fight Hydra. By conking out. He wasn't sure he really understood what the idea was but just as he was about to touch the wolf, both girls stopped him by grabbing his arm which caused him to give them a mildly annoyed look. "Like really, we are in the middle of a warzone, I'm surprised that Hydra doesn't know we are here. He shouldn't be able to sense us right? We need Noah to wake up, his crazy weird fighting abilities might come in handy."

"Hydra knows we are here." Dolan's dark voice rang from behind, causing Flint to briefly turn his attention to the jackal. He wasn't sure he really liked the man much. Something about him just seemed off to the tiger but he just couldn't put his finger on it. It was as if the jackal had multiple lifetimes worth of regret on him and it had caused him to become almost completely apathetic to the world. "It's just waiting for us to make a move. It's toying with us you see? It knows we don't stand a chance against it and is letting us wait until we either run or go mad and attack it." He gave a cold glance towards Aidan who was still stuck staring at the man that was held within the Puritan's massive claws. "I don't see how we could even begin to fight this thing."

"Stop being so cynical will you?" Elena shouted at the jackal in frustration as she looked back to the young sleeping wolf. "We should trust Noah, I think he did have an idea. It's almost ten minutes so when he wakes up we should see what he's come up with." She turned away from him to focus on the distressed looking lieutenant who was still staring at the monster's claws.

Meanwhile Flint was still looking at the sleeping kid, wanting to hurry and wake him back up but the look he got from the lioness made him decide it was probably a good idea to wait. Suddenly, Noah started glowing. It started with a glowing tattoo on his right arm before spreading across his entire body. "Hey guys? He's glowing like a nightlight. Is that the thing he was thinking would help us?" He moved once more to check up on him and reach out, only to find one of his paws somehow moving slowly, almost as if he were underwater. Perplexed by what was happening, he didn't notice the wolf's eyes snapping open until it was too late, causing him to yelp and scramble away.

The boy had a strange, intense look on his face as he got up, catching the attention of the others who also looked confused at his glowing state. "Noah?" Flint asked in a confused and worried tone. "What's going on? Why are you glowing? You didn't ingest anything radioactive did you?" The young wolf was silent, his focus entirely on the giant robotic serpent. "Hey kid, what are you thinking?" He asked warily as the wolf started to walk towards it. "Wait! Someone stop him!" He shouted out. The girls were quick to respond as they ran towards him but right as they got within grabbing distance their bodies slowed down drastically. 'Wait... the same thing happened when my paw got close to him. It went in slow-motion as if time was distorted...did he suddenly awaken some form of time abilities?' As he thought this, he realized the girls continued to get slower and slower as they got closer to the point they were barely moving. "Hey, get away! He has time powers!"

This caught their attention and they swiftly started to back away from the wolf. The farther they got from him, the faster their bodies went until they were out of range of his powers. Flint let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure what Noah was capable of with his powers and he wasn't even aware of what he was doing. But thankfully, before he could leave their little hiding spot, he was grabbed by Aidan who had snapped out of his trap and was almost completely unfazed by the time-slowing effect around Noah. This seemed to snap Noah out of whatever trance he was in as he stopped glowing and he started shaking his head.

"What... what happened?" he asked nobody in particular as Aidan dragged him back to the rest of the group. "Hey!" he complained as the wolf continued to roughly drag him back to the center before slamming him on the ground with a glare.

"What were you thinking?" Aidan yelled in anger. "You were about to step out to where Hydra could see you! You could have gotten killed! And what was with the glowing?" Noah just looked at him confused before he pulled his sweater up to reveal the glowing mark on his arm.

"I... have no idea." Was his answer before he looked back to Aidan. "But I think I know what caused Hydra to be free. It'll be a long story and you might not like what I learned." He took a deep breath before he explained what he learned in the inner realm of the Seal of Metal. Aidan obviously paid the most attention, his frown having grown more and more intense as Noah went on, his paws gripping tightly to the point they were beginning to turn white. The others listened in rapture, occasionally glancing between the two wolves. As he finished, Aidan started to growl.

"Are you saying that some evil spirit possessed my dad and forced him to free Hydra? Why?" he barked out in frustration. "What the fuck is a Malefactor!? Why would they take over my dad? It doesn't make sense!" He got up and paced around their little area. "My dad would never fall to the temptations of some demon! Also, what do you mean by the inner world of the seal? Are you saying there is something behind the Tor? How on earth do you know all this shit!?" This made Noah blink, not having any idea what the other wolf was talking about.

"What's a Tor?" He asked confused, Aidan giving a bit of an 'oh crap' look on his face and even the others were looking towards the man, their eyes curious. All except for Dolan who simply stared at the floor frowning.

"I shouldn't have said anything..." was all Aidan said before he slapped his forehead. "Why do I always open my big fat mouth?" he muttered before letting out a deep, heavy sigh. "Listen, what I tell you is supposed to be for High ranking members of MODD only. It's not for public knowledge. As you know, Glyphs have sync rates and the higher synch rates allow special abilities. For example, those who have a sync rate between 25-50% are known as the Kyklofórise or the Released. They can access the most basic aspects of their Glyph but nothing beyond that. The Second Stage, called the Enoplos or Armed are the ones who can summon their Glyph Weapon. They are the ones who have 51-75% and finally are the Afypnístike or Awakened who can summon their own armor. They are the strongest of the Glyph Users and make up the highest echelons of the MODD Security Forces. The Elemental Lords have all those powers but to a vastly greater degree. Every Elemental Lord has a complete 100% sync rate and not even the strongest of the Afypnístike can fight against them. You see, all glyphs are based on the twelve elemental seals themselves, they are merely pale copies of the original things." Aidan took a deep breath before continuing.

"There used to be far more seals of course but after the Great Seal War, all but the Prime Elemental Seals wound up destroyed and the holders of the remaining seals became the first of MODD's Elemental Lords. The method on how the people created seals themselves before the GSE has been lost to time. It was MODD who were the ones who figured out the method to create the Glyphs, which is a large part of why they are so powerful." Noah just nodded, he remembered the history classes he had regarding the Great Seal War. It was probably the biggest event in Mortaelian history. The War not only resulted in the rise of MODD, but also the destruction of almost all the Seals.

"I've heard about this in my studies! It's true that very few people can generate their armor and that the higher the sync rate, the stronger the ability is." Noah said in a confident manner, proud of remembering so much from his class. He mostly slept during the lectures, much to Emily's fury but he always still managed to ace his tests.

Aidan nodded, his mouth curving into a slight smile before frowning again. "Yeah exactly, and some people like me have such a bad sync rate that we are completely unable to bond with a glyph. Most people who can't generally drop out of the MODD academy since without one, it would be far harder to get through the ranks but I worked my ass off to get where I am today." There was a hint of pride in his voice. "However, it works differently with the Seals because not only can the Elemental Lords summon their own Seal Weapons, which are far stronger than any Glyph Weapon, but they can summon their own Armor to protect them. Most terrifying of all, they can summon a Tor, the true manifestation of the Seals."

Dolan, who had his gaze elsewhere spoke up, his voice sounding cold. "The Tor is the Elemental Lord at their strongest. They summon a door that can release enough energy to obliterate an entire city in an instant. Or if they desire, they can force people into the door and those who go through it are never seen again, practically erased from existence. Nobody knows what happens to the poor souls who are forced to enter the Tor. Most assume they simply die but nobody knows for sure. I saw firsthand what happens when the Tor is opened, during the end stages of the Rebellion. The Elemental Lord of Time Vladimir Alkaev personally captured the leaders and swiftly sentenced them to death and sucked them through the Tor." He shivered slightly upon recalling such an event.

"You knew the Clockwork Knight?" Noah asked, the Elemental Lord of Time had always been a favorite of his. A tall, imposing Laika dog who was rarely seen without his armor and weapon just seemed so cool to him.

The jackal smiled grimly. "Oh, I know Vladdie alright. We used to be in the same unit back when we were starting up. He had taken up officer training while I was just an enlisted grunt, one who couldn't even sync with a Glyph but my sharpshooter skills made me far too valuable for MODD to let me go. We served with each other for years before he was selected to be the second of the previous Time Lord and when he was assassinated by the Rebels, Vladimir took over and led a campaign to end the war as swiftly and brutally as possible. Many that were captured were given the same fate their leaders would face. Death wasn't good enough for Vladimir so every single one was sent through the Tor." Noah audibly gulped, now frightened of the Time Lord.

"Well that's terrifying. So basically, the Elemental Lords can just throw people through these Tor things with no repercussions?" Flint asked the jackal, his face looking slightly pale.

Dolan shook his head, putting the two at relative ease. "They have to report to MODD every time they use their Tor. It's a highly regulated power and the Elemental Lords are taught to only use the door as a last resort, so as not to drastically enforce it when they see fit. I know certain Elemental Lords can be a bit more trigger happy than others with their powers but no matter what, they all work for MODD and exist to maintain the near complete stranglehold they have over our planet. Nearly every country has a branch, though most are far smaller than the ones who have an Elemental Lord. It's been like this since the GSW and has only grown since then, first being the creation of Glyphs which MODD has complete control over. Through time, they've expanded into other industries such as mining, manufacturing and the like. MODD was the main reason the Trinan Rebellion started in the first place, they saw the gradual integration between the Government and MODD was a threat to their society so they staged a rebellion."

"I always knew MODD was big but that is surprising honestly." Noah stated in a calm tone. "But either way, I don't know if I was behind the Tor but it was definitely the inner world of the Seal. It was like a giant metal city, that's where I saw this wolf man. He didn't give me a name but he was the one who showed me the Malefactor." Noah rubbed his arm. "He said if I destroyed the monster he would somehow grant me the power to help defeat Hydra, which I guess is this weird tattoo thing?" He rolled up his sleeve, showing the glowing symbol. "But how do I activate it? Flint said I was glowing when I woke up. I wonder if I could control that."

"Yeah! It was like you went radioactive for a bit there. It was really awesome though, you created this weird time dilation field thing. I didn't think someone could control time like that without the Seal or a Time Glyph. It's like you're from a comic book or something." Flint said in a chipper manner. "Maybe if you close your eyes and breathe a bit, maybe you can start glowing again?" Noah just nodded and did as Flint said, closing his eyes before breathing and focused on trying to awaken his power. Right as he was about to give up, he felt warmth on his right arm and it started to spread throughout his body..

"Hey, you are glowing again!" Flint shouted, causing Noah to open his eyes and see his body covered in golden symbols which fascinated him.

"So this is the power he gave me?" Noah said mostly to himself, as he stared at his glowing body. "Yeah, I think I can make this work! Hey Flint, can you throw something at me? I want to see if I can do that time dilation thing on my own. See if it isn't just an unconscious thing."

The tiger just gave him a concerned look. "Are you sure?" Noah just nodded and placed a paw in front of him. Flint just shook his head and found a decent sized rock and chucked it at the boy, holding back a bit so as to not risk hurting him but as it got closer Noah gave a look of great concentration and right as the stone got near him it stopped in its tracks which caught Noah and everyone by surprise. "That is so cool!" Flint said with a giant grin while Aidan just gave a grunt.

"Okay, enough playing around. Are you sure you can fight Hydra? You just got these powers after all. You might not be well versed in it enough to fight a high level opponent."

"Are you seriously going to put this child on the front line? Are you insane?!" Dolan shouted out in anger as he pointed towards Noah who just glared at the man, not liking the fact he was called a child but the jackal didn't seem to pay him any attention as his focus was entirely on Aidan who didn't even give much of a reaction to the comment.

The other wolf's response was surprisingly calm, as well as the expression on his face. "He wants to fight so we might as well let him. I don't like this either but we don't really have any choice. According to him, he was given this power specifically to fight Hydra so I think we should trust that. We don't have a chance without him anyway." Dolan looked like he was going to protest but he couldn't come up with a retort so he just sighed and grumbled as he took his guns out of their hoisters and started to spin them, getting ready for the inevitable fight. All the others also got ready, readying their weapons. Flint was swinging his meteor hammer while Loni played around with her fans and Elena was twirling her naginata like a baton. After a few moments they all got ready as Noah drew his swords, prepared to fight.

'Okay old wolf guy, you said this power will help us beat Hydea, you better be right.' Noah thought to himself as they all ran out of their hiding spot and rushed towards the gigantic metallic serpent which seemed to surprise it as its innumerable heads all flitted around as they stopped right in front of it.

"Let my dad go!" Aidan shouted in fury as he pointed his gunblade at the monster. "We will destroy you! You hear me Hydra? This is your end! We will make you pay for the destruction of Eldra!"

The monster just let out a metallic sounding laugh, and much to everyone's surprise it even spoke, its voice static and emotionless. "Foolish children, you think you can destroy me? A Puritan? You might have slain a few of my kin but not even the great Asterius could destroy me fully, only seal me away. What could a bunch of children like you could do that he could not?" Aidan just growled in anger, gripping his gunblade but Noah caught on to what the monster was trying to do so he grabbed hold of the other wolf's arm.

"He's trying to anger us and make us act recklessly." He said softly before putting his focus on Hydra. "But he's right, you'll pay for the chaos you caused!" Noah shouted. Hydra just chuckled and charged up its laser.

'Use your right sword! It will absorb the lasers and you can use the stored energy to send it right back at Hydra.' He heard the wolf's voice instruct inside his head. Noah nodded and raised his right arm with sword in hand and waited patiently. Instinct took hold as he braced himself, the pure and raw energy that was just released, hurdling their way. His power activated, the beam slowing down to a crawl within close proximity before retaining its usual speed. Instead of being blasted away, the sword absorbed both light and impact, the entire surface now coated in light. This caught everyone by surprise, especially Hydra who gave a startled hiss.

"What?!" The robotic serpent hissed in shock. "How?!" Noah just gave a smirk as he felt the energy surge inside his blade and he stuck his tongue out.

"You really shouldn't underestimate people asshole!" He said as he slashed his sword right towards Hydra, sending an absolutely massive arch of dark energy flying out of it which nearly knocked Noah off of his feet from the sheer force of it. As it hit Hydra it sliced apart several of its heads, making it roar in agony. Everybody just looked on in shock at what happened. Aidan walked up towards Noah and grabbed his sword from him, ignoring his protest as he stared at it before a look of realisation crossed his face.

"A Shadestone Blade...I know MODD had been experimenting with these kinds of blades but they were supposed to be rare. I didn't know we had any of these in our armory...how lucky, Hydra's main weapons are energy based so this blade actually is a perfect counter towards it." Noah just nodded, he knew what Shadestone was, everyone did. It was a stone that had the uncanny ability to absorb light energy and in turn convert it into a form of 'Dark Energy' which made them an excellent material for solar panels. In fact, Rillotia was famous for its massive solar plants in the sunnier areas of the country which provided a large part of the country's energy reserves, though he didn't know MODD had been looking into ways to weaponize it. It did make sense since all firearms were energy based. The old non-energy based firearms had been largely banned and outdated, they weren't ever seen outside some models that were held in museums and the occasional collector. So a sword that absorbed this type of energy would be invaluable.

"So they have figured out a way to weaponize even something like a shadestone..." Elena muttered in a somewhat disappointed tone. "I can't exactly complain since it probably just saved our lives right now, but even still it's kinda sad that MODD has managed to turn something as useful as shadestone into a weapon of war." Before anyone could say anything, Hydra let out a furious hiss which caught everyone's attention.

"Foolish children, don't ever turn your backs on the enemy!" Hydra shouted in anger. Noah swiftly took his blade back from Aidan and focused. "You caught me by surprise but let's see how much that blade can handle before breaking!" All of his remaining heads charged up their own lasers before he unleashed them. Noah activated his power once more, the sword absorbing it all like a lightning rod, letting out a gasp as he felt the energy pounding into his body and felt his bones shaking from the force of the impact. The blade let out an extremely loud hum as it vibrated so much, the object almost falling out of his paws but Noah managed to keep it stable as the light began to fade. After a few moments, the humming and vibrations ceased. Noah let out a loud gasp as he fell to his knees.

"That was incredible!" Flint shouted loudly as he went up to Noah and gingerly helped him back on his feet before glaring at Hydra and giving it the middle finger. "That blade is incredible!" Noah just nodded, not saying anything as he slowly regained his strength.

"It really is!" He said before he sent that energy right back at Hydra, letting out an even larger burst, this time knocking him off his feet but Flint thankfully managed to grab him and help him regain his balance as even more heads were sliced off. Aidan saw this and swiftly made a plan of attack.

"Okay, I have an idea! We can have Noah handle the laser blasts while we attack Hydra from other angles! There are enough of us that we can attack in almost all directions so he won't be able to target everyone. Plus, he can use his time powers to help if any of us are in danger." All the others just looked towards each other, a mixed variety of expressions at the plan.

"Isn't that dangerous? We're basically going to use a kid as bait for us while we attack, Noah could get hurt." Loni said and Elena nodded.

Aidan himself seemed troubled by his plan but he closed his eyes and took a breath before answering her concern. "Listen, I don't like this either but it's the best bet we got."

This time it was Elena who spoke up. "Couldn't we just have someone else handle the sword? I mean, it's just a blade right?"

Aidan just shook his head. "This was manufactured and it will only work for the person who used it first unless MODD themselves does a reset. We do this so that our weapons don't fall into the paws of Inquisition or any other terrorist group. This applies for any weapon, including those for civilian use."

"Couldn't someone from the Inquisition just go undercover and infiltrate MODD? They actually did manage to attack Eldra once before right?" Elena asked. "If they did that they would easily get access to the weapons."

Dolan just snorted at that question. "It's simple, Inquisition doesn't do infiltration, they believe they're above dealing with such matters. Plus, they wouldn't be able to hide themselves since sworn Brothers and Sisters of the Inquisition brand their bodies in markings of their order, having it burned into their flesh so anyone with that tried to join MODD they'd instantly be thrown in jail before they could ever get anywhere near the weapons." He said with a shrug before Noah brought everyone back to the matter at hand with a tiny whimper.

"Um guys...we should focus on Hydra, I think he's starting to recover!" This brought everyone out of their stupor and with a mutual look, all of them ran into different directions while Noah stood firm in front of the monstrous beast. 'Okay...I understand why Aidan left me to face Hydra but...this fucking sucks!' He mentally complained to himself as he got back into a fighting stance.

Hydra just glared at him with hatred and fury burning in those bloody red eyes from its remaining heads. "You have proven yourself the most troubling child, but it seems your 'friends' have abandoned you." Hydra shouted as he started spamming his lasers and Noah could barely withstand them as they were absorbed into his blade. The vibrating became so strong it was actually starting to hurt but Noah did his best to stand strong.

'Anytime guys! I don't think I can handle this much longer!' He internally screamed as he heard his sword let out a loud beeping noise. 'What is that?' He thought in a panic before a cruel realization came to mind. 'Oh no...It's starting to get overloaded! If this keeps up it could result in a massive energy backlash.' His mind raced on what to do before he heard Aidan's shout from above them.

"Look up, asshole!" The elder wolf shouted as sliced apart the gnarled claw that was holding his father. The monster screamed in agony, letting them both go to plummet to the ground at high speed but Noah was quick to use his ability to slow their ascent. Once they were safely on the ground he let time return to normal and Aidan was quick to get back on his feet and make a run back to their hiding spot from earlier to get his dad to safety. Noah didn't really get a good look at the man but from what he could see up close it didn't look pretty, though at least he was breathing. As soon as he was out of sight, Hydra was then bombarded by energy blasts from Dolan who was standing on a roof to Noah's right and he heard both Elena and Loni rush from behind, each slicing and attacking what they could reach on Hydra, causing him to scream but unable to do anything given the multi pronged attack. After they were finished they stopped next to Noah where Elena shouted out for the next phase of the attack.

"Flint, now!" She cried out and out of nowhere the giant of a tiger lept from the top of the MODD HQ, landing directly on the center head of the beast, smashing it repeatedly with his meteor hammer with a look of almost manic glee in his eyes. Obliviously thrilled with finally getting some form of payback for the death of his loved one, it must have been cathartic for him. Hydra eventually managed to throw him off but as Noah did before he slowed time down around Flint, allowing him to land safely before he rushed towards the group just as Dolan combined his guns into what looked like a massive cannon liked weapon before he fired a massive energy burst that fried Hydra, leaving large parts of its metallic body burned and melted black. He joined the rest of the group once he was out of the way, Noah countering with all the stored energy from the earlier onslaught that sliced clean though, nearly having it in half yet somehow it stayed alive just as Aidan came back, admiring their handy work.

The once great abomination was now a cracked and destroyed wreck, looking more like something destined for the scrapheap than one of the all powerful Puritan Unsealed that countless children had told stories to scare each other, but even then it held on. The center head was ruined beyond repair but still at least two remaining heads were active. It let out an angry hiss as it managed to slowly piece itself back together. Soon enough, it managed to tower over them once again, angry as ever. "Fools! I'm an all powerful Puritan, it will take far more than your puny little attacks to destroy me!" It hissed, even though the entire body was barely keeping itself together it was clear that it was far from dead.

"How can he still be alive?" Flint muttered in shock as he stared at the damaged but still monstrous Hydra. "We gave it everything we had and he still stands. I don't think another coordinated strike would work since none of us have the energy to pull it off again." The others stared at each other, all of them looking tired and worn from the attack they just pulled. They had been fighting nonstop for who knows how long and Noah knew they were all at the end of their rope as he could barely stand.

'Use your other sword, it will help end the fight quickly. Focus...blend into the shadows and find yourself above the beast and stab him in the head.' Noah raised a brow, the advice sounded odd. Like how would blending in the shadows work? His weird tattoo power gave him control over time. Glyphs only gave someone control over just one element. Same with the Seals, though to a far greater degree. Did this power possibly give him two elemental powers? He closed his eyes as he stepped into a shadowed area. Aidan seemed to catch on and gave him a confused look but before his mouth even moved, he took a deep breath and focused on blending with the shadows and almost by magic he found himself faded into it. He heard Aidan let out a sharp yelp, seemingly shocked that Noah vanished but Noah kept focused as he aimed towards the shadows above Hydra's destroyed central head.

Quick as a flash he found himself high above Hydra, causing him to let out a surprised scream as he plummeted towards the ground. Though after a few seconds, he managed to slow time around him just enough to aim himself towards Hydra and landed on top of his head, clinging on the fractured parts.

"What are you- get off of me you fucking mutt!" He screamed out as he started thrashing around to get Noah off of him but the wolf managed to cling on and grabbed his secondary sword with the pommel shaped like an hourglass.

'Stab him in the head with this sword, I hope this works!' He mentally shouted at himself and stabbed the monster right through the skull as Hydra let out a high pitched scream. Suddenly, the entire body started to rust and the hourglass started to glow and spin rapidly. A number gauge appeared on top of its head, drastically scaling upward as the being further decayed. After several minutes, it slowly began to fade away into dust. Wth one last curse, Hydra disappeared completely and Noah was sent plummeting again. As he started to fall, he passed out.

///

"Noah!" Aidan cried out as he ran, hoping to break the young wolf's fall, then stopped in his tracks.

The pocket watch Noah was carrying had slipped out, shining a brilliant light and taking on another form. Suddenly, he was completely frozen in midair. This form slowly took on an anthropomorphic shape, seeming akin to lupine. As it grew and started to become visibly solid, massive black angel wings were the first thing to be seen before the body revealed brilliant white fur covered in black armor.

"What the fuck is that!?" Aidan heard Flint shout out as everyone just stared towards the beast. It had to be almost ten feet tall and he looked both beautiful and terrifying, a beautiful angel of death. It floated there for several moments before it gently wrapped the young wolf --he was going to assume the figure was male, given the overall masculine build the ethereal angel had-- in an embrace. The being then gracefully descended down right in front of him and held his arms out without a word. Aidan was quick to catch on and held his own arms out, the angel gently handing Noah before fading into light and reformed back into the pocket watch that went back into his pocket. As he held him closer, he heard him let out a tiny whisper; a name.

"Thanatos." Was all he said before he went back into a slumber. Aidan raised a brow, confused before noticing that the two swords were stuck into the ground and he looked towards Flint, motioning for him to grab them.

Flint gave him a thumbs up before doing what was requested, then ran back towards the group, marveling at the hourglass design. "Look at this! I think this was the sword he used to destroy Hydra. I've never seen anything like it. Do you know what this sword is, Aidan?"

Aidan looked towards it. In all honesty he hadn't paid it any mind but once he got a better look at it, his eyes widened. "That's a Time-Eater sword..." He muttered in shock. "I didn't think they were real. I heard rumors of MODD experimenting with a blade infused with time magic, but if I recall correctly, these swords were designed to absorb the energy of an object or being and direct it back at the attacker, as we've all witnessed a few moments ago."

"That's horrifying!" Elena muttered with a gasp. "How could they create something like that?"

Aidan shrugged. He didn't really have any idea why they did it, not even believing it existed. He didn't even know they had that in the armory but he guessed it might have been added recently. Still, it was odd that a time based weapon was here in Eldra and not the city of time. But he didn't really care at the moment. That sword just killed Hydra. Suddenly, his ears swiveled at the sound of his headset going off, which he swiftly put it on and logged in. "Lieutenant Hart here! Hydra has been neutralized." He said into his headphones and smiled when he heard it was Todd on the other end.

"Aidan! You won't believe what happened! All the Unsealed are starting to fade into nothing! The battle is won! Get back to the plaza, we're going to party!" Aidan sighed as he heard the man continue speaking. "What about the Commander! Is he okay?"

"He's alive. He was knocked out when we found him. But I'm going to wake him up and we will meet you at the plaza, just give us about an hour." Aidan said before he hanged up and rushed towards where he left his dad with the others following close behind. Once he entered the building he let out a sigh of relief when he saw that his father was awake. "Dad!" He cried out as he ran towards the man and embraced him. "I was so worried, are you okay? What happened? How did Hydra get free?" The man didn't say anything for several moments, causing the wolf to frown as he looked towards his father, the man having a blank look on his face. "Dad?"

"It's all my fault..." the man said before he started crying. "I was the one who freed Hydra. I don't even know why it happened...it was if some other force took control of my body and forced me to do what I had done. All those people, so many people died. Eldra has been destroyed all because of me." The Commander muttered in horror.

Hearing this made Aidan pause. What he described, like a force taking over him...that was what Noah said happened. When --what did he call it, the Malefactor? Yeah that was it!-- the Malefactor took over his dad. "It's not your fault, you were possessed by something called a Malefactor. I'm not exactly sure what that is but it took advantage of your stress. You had no control of your actions." The man gave him a small look before sighing. "Is something wrong dad? Talk to me."

"There is something else. I...I can't feel my legs son..." The old man whispered so quietly that his son had to lean in to hear him correctly.

Aidan looked at his dad horrified, it couldn't be true...no way his dad could be... "You aren't serious, are you dad? Please, tell me you're fucking with me... you can't be..." He couldn't finish that thought, his body shaking. If his dad was...he couldn't even think of the word. If that was true, how was his father going to continue his work?

His dad gave him a serious look and he knew that the reality was true. "I wouldn't lie about something like this. When I was fighting against Hydra, he took me by complete surprise. When I heard my back snap and the pain rushed through me, I fainted. Whatever happened wrecked my spine..."

"But we can get you help, right? MODD has the best medical care available and you're a Commander, they can make you walk again, can't they? Regeneration Serum should fix that right up!" Aidan ranted, not wanting to believe this was permanent. He knew he was in denial but he didn't care. He would have continued to rant, not caring that he was probably making a fool of himself in front of his comrades. He didn't even care he still had Noah in his arms but he was stopped when he felt his father clamp a paw on his snout and give him a stern look.

"I know MODD has the best care but even with a strict Regen Serum regimen, it would take years before I'm able to walk again. But right now I think we could all use some rest, do you think you and your friends can help an old man?" Aidan nodded, directing Flint towards him.

"So what happens now?" Aidan asked in a worried tone.

His dad sighed and put his head in his paws before he spoke, looking his son right in the eyes. "I don't know. I can do most of the deskwork and leadership duties involved in running the MODD soldiers but outside of that, there's nothing I can do. Right now I plan on maintaining my role as Commander so I can direct the reconstruction of Eldra. I owe the city that much. Even if it wasn't truly my fault, it was still my weakness that allowed that demon creature you told me about to take control of me and free Hydra. How did you destroy him? I didn't think it possible, not even the greatest of my predecessors were able to do it but you, a bunch of kids were able to do so."

Aidan smiled and directed the man's attention to the boy in his arms. "It was largely thanks to this kid! He was the one who landed the finishing blow. Did you know we had a Time Eater sword in our armory? He somehow got both that and a shadestone blade, plus he somehow gained the ability to control not only time but darkness as well." The man just looked at the boy for a few moments before realization seemed to ring on his face, his mouth hanging open in shock. "Dad, are you okay?"

The man let out a shrill laugh and shook his head, head in paw. "It can't be...well damn, I never thought this would happen. I'll be damned it's Jacob Reaper, he's alive."

"Jacob... Reaper...?" Aidan asked as he stared down at the boy. He did say he was adopted and he didn't have any memory of his life before he woke up to his dad. So it was obvious Noah wasn't his original name, but his dad obviously knew the boy but how? Why would his dad know some random amnesiac kid from a tiny town in Rillotia. "Dad... do you know this kid? What's going on?" He asked which made the man give an almost dark sounding chuckle before he started.

"It's a long story, one the boy himself should hear. Plus we're all tired so let's get some sleep and we will talk when we wake up." Aidan just gave a confused nod. He badly wanted to get some sleep, doubting they would be clear to go home but given he had long gotten used to sleeping in uncomfortable places, training in the MODD Academy ruined any pickiness in sleeping choices so he would be fine sleeping in a cot. He then headed towards Flint and held his arms out to him.

"Hey, can you take Noah for me? I want to be the one to help my dad." Flint just gave a small smile and nod and took the boy off his paws. Seeing the kid in the tigers arms made him realise just how young the boy looked. Aidan was quite a tall man himself, standing around 6'10 and probably close to 270lbs but the tiger had to be at least 7'2 and 300lbs. If he could guess the boy's height he would have guessed around 6', quite a respectable height for someone his age but given how skinny he was, Aidan guessed he hadn't fully grown quite yet. After making sure he was secure in the tigers arm he turned towards his father and with a grunt of effort he managed to get the giant of a man on his back. After he managed to adjust his body to handle the extreme weight it was carrying he started walking, his father's legs dangling uselessly off the ground. The others followed suit and they walked their way to the plaza. As they went, he saw numerous soldiers running around to secure order. While the Unsealed were indeed gone, a large part of the city was still on fire and they still needed to find people.

About halfway to the plaza he was shocked when he heard a familiar voice run up to him. "Aidan!" He heard Todd's voice ring as he ran up to the group, looking relieved at seeing them. "Thank god, I was so worried about you guys." He said, still panting a bit to regain his breath. Once he did so he seemed to notice that Aidan was carrying his father and he swiftly gave the man a salute.

"Commander Hart! I'm so glad you are alive but why is Aidan carrying you?" He questioned, then gasped as he finally noticed the man's limp legs and bowed his head respectfully. "Oh, I see... my apologies sir." He said before he looked at Aidan. "Here, let me help carry him. Take some of the burden off of you." Aidan did as he bade and took the man off of his back and Todd took the other arm and they lifted him up and continued to walk towards the plaza. "How did you guys do it though? You guys defeated Hydra, I didn't even think that was possible. How did he get free in the first place?"

Aidan just shook his head, he was tired and he didn't feel like talking much at the moment. Especially not on the fact his dad somehow got possessed by some otherworldly abomination who took him over and caused him to free the monster."I'll tell you later, I just want to get some sleep right now." He let out an exhausted sigh. Todd just nodded and stayed silent as they continued their way to the plaza and once they found their way they saw the place was alight with people all around, cheering that the attack was over. Alcohol was being swung around everywhere and this got even louder as people noticed their group arrive. He flinched as he was nearly bowled over by a few of his fellow soldiers, Sergeant Kasim and Private Jennings rushed up towards him, both of them obviously drunk as they were both bright red in the face. He also noticed that Private Miles was sitting towards the tent area, staring off into nothing with a can of beer in his paws but he didn't seem to be drinking any of it. He was really going to get him some help, he was worried about the raccoon. He was a rookie so it was doubtful he was ready for something like this.

"Lieutenant! You made it!" Kasim cheered with a goofy smile on his face. "Good to see you as well Commander!" He said before noticing that the man was being held up by Aidan and Todd and frowned, confused at what he saw. "Um... Commander? What happened to your legs?" This made Jennings also look down to the man's legs.

"Damn Commander, what happened to you?" He asked before hiccuping.

The Commander just let out a tired sigh before he spoke, obviously exhausted. "While I was fighting Hydra I got hurt badly, I think my spine might have been snapped. I can't feel my legs."

"Does that mean you're going to retire sir?" Jennings asked in a worried tone. "Will you be able to fulfill your duties if you are paralyzed?"

The Commander shook his head. "I can do the basic functions like paperwork and the like. The Lt. Commander will take over any duties that would require leg movement. I'm going to stay as Commander, at least until repairs are done. But if you don't mind, I need to talk with my staff and these kids all need some sleep so can you take them to a place where they can get some rest?" Both Kasim and Jennings nodded as they led them into the tent, and after dropping his dad in with the rest of his command staff, he and the others followed. They were taken to an area with several open beds, away from the noise outside. Aidan sighed as he laid down on one. He had never felt so tired. He looked and saw that the others had done the same except Flint who was just sitting Noah down on his own bed.

Once everyone was laid down Aidan felt his body starting to fall asleep. As he did so, thoughts of what the future would hold ran in his head and the last thing he thought about was Noah, or was it Jacob? Either way he needed to get answers from his dad but that would be after he got some sleep. Right before he fell asleep he promised himself he would protect the boy no matter what. And with that resolve he fell into dreamland, glad this nightmare was finally over.