Mortality Chapter 9
#9 of Jason Wolfe: Mortality
Chapter 9: No One Alone
Day 19
Eleven meteorites struck the face of Enria, each one slamming into the vicinity of Newroads. Several ploughed through dozens of skyscrapers, slamming into a street and scattering debris in all directions. Fires immediately started as flames spread from the impact site. Screams of civilians rose exponentially as chaos spread all around them.
Mothers held their children as their offspring lay dying in their arms. Children - now orphaned - ran heedlessly around screaming for their parents. Men and women lay staring at the darkening sky as the world that they knew was torn apart around them.
Amidst all the destruction, Jason Wolfe crouched beside his son, Sam, cradling the gold and black wolf's rapidly cooling body in his arms. Tears ran down his face. He couldn't stop staring at Sam's features... He wouldn't call him dead... not even in his mind. His son just seemed so... peaceful... Like he was just sleeping despite the gaping hole in his chest.
"What - What's happening!?" Brett cried behind him.
Jason didn't need to look to know what was happening.
Sam had died...
One of the Wolfe Family had perished...
It was taken as an affront to the No Ones...
"They're attacking," he choked softly. "The No Ones are going to destroy Enria..."
"What!?" he heard Brett demand. "Why!?"
"Because Sam died... One of the Wolfes died..." Jason managed to tear his gaze away from his son's dead body.
One of the meteorites had crashed at the end of the street. As the dust settled, the crowd slowly began to approach the crater. Some part of Jason wanted to tell them to pull away, to run for their lives. But what was the point? This was the might of the No Ones... the rulers of all existence... How could they escape that?
Jason felt a massive gap in his heart... something... he thought he'd never feel.
Total and utter hopelessness...
There was no escape...
... and some part of him wanted this reality to be extinguished...
If this world could take the life of someone as innocent and pure as Sam... it didn't deserve to live.
The sounds of curiosity were slowly lifting up from those gathered around the crater. Even from his distance, he could make out the individuals who were looming over the impact site, peering over the lip of the crater curiously to see what had caused such devastation.
THWACK! THWACK!
Despite the painful emptiness of his heart, Jason still flinched when he saw the long, red band that shot out from the crater and pierced the chests of the surrounding civilians. Like a dark angel rising from Hell itself, a figure mummified in red and black belts rose from the crater ominously, suspended by the strength of the countless belts swinging out from his body and spearing the individuals around him. Only the human figure's snow-white hair and one, bright red eye was revealed to the world.
The crowd staggered back as the figure spoke in a loud, booming voice that seemed to echo across Jason's very soul.
"I am H2 the Harbinger of Havoc! I declare this reality unfit for existence!" H2 lifted a single hand into the air. "Suffer in Chaos!"
Belts unwrapped themselves from H2's body, unfurling rapidly and swiping in all directions like thousands of razor-sharp blades. Heads were severed off shoulders, limbs were torn asunder and entire buildings. Dark lightning began shooting from the sky despite the absence of clouds, slamming into structures and shattering them to pieces. Several of H2's belts congregated into a large clump, forming a massive, red and black hand that easily swept through the damaged city, picking up entire skyscrapers filled with people and effortlessly hurling them into the rest of the city.
More screams erupted from behind them and Jason dared to glance over his shoulder to where a single figure dressed in a billowing, black cape with a hood over his features hiding all but his blue eyes strode towards them. The figure held an enormous six-foot crystal blade in his left hand.
"I am S-Zero the Saviour of Space!" the No One declared. "I declare this reality unfit for existence!"
S-Zero slashing mightily with his sword. The blade ripped a tear right through the air, opening a ragged portal deep into space and what appeared to be the very core of the sun. Scorching hot flames surged from the portal, melting all in its path. The No One slashed again and the tear in space unleashed a frightful barrage of asteroids that crashed right into the city, cleaving through the remains of the street with ease.
"I don't know what the hell is going on!?" a booming voice cried from somewhere close by.
Jason spun and realised that it was one of the resident superheroes of Newroads, Warhorse. The massive brown-furred equine was a titan of a hero, rising up well past nine feet in height and brimming with pure muscle.
No...
"But I am not gonna let these supervillains destroy our home!" the superhero shouted.
"No..." Jason croaked.
Dozens of superheroes were present at the parade. Many were injured in the explosions but there were still a fair few that remained able to stand up against the No Ones.
They would stand... but for how long was another matter...
The supers charged to the rescue of the citizens...
One super, Ankh buy the name, was a jackal with the power to manipulate light into lasers. He flew at H2, throwing spears of light at the No One.
At that instant, a long, serpentine creature slipped into view, wielding an enormous mirror in one hand. Ankh's lasers instantly slipped into the mirror's reflective surface. The creature appeared as a long, snake-like figure with legs fusing into three long, slithering tails. Scales of a metallic silver and almost mirror-like, sheen covered her entire body. Thick, black, plate armour covered her torso but left her arms exposed. It was impossible to see the No One's features as it seemed that regardless of how hard anyone tried, all attention was directed away from K12 the Karmic's face.
"I am K12 the Karmic," she hissed, "and I deem this reality unfit for existence."
Ankh's might light beams shot right back out of K12's mirror, striking the superhero dead on the chest and sending the jackal crashing into another building. K12's mirrors began emitting a bright, almost blinding glow. Eerie reflections of each person within range of the mirror's gaze appeared around K12 even the superheroes.
Warhorse came to a grinding halt in front of his own replica...
Before the two equines suddenly erupted into a perfectly even fist-fight... with one exception.
Warhorse's clone wasn't getting tired.
Each blow was perfectly even, each expression, grunt and shout matched by the clone... until Warhorse began showing signs of fatigue and his clone didn't.
Oh no...
A huge shadow crossed Newroads...
Jason dared to gaze upwards and a scream died in his throat. Above then hovered what had to be the largest sword next to R3's Infinity Blade. The entire sword had to be almost half as wide as the city! Without warning, the sword swung down at them, the enormous jagged edge cleaved right trough Newroad's street.
The world abruptly took tilt to the right. Jason scrambled as the earth was torn asunder and a huge chasm was left in the wake of the blade's passing. Civilians screamed as they were hurled until the void, scrambling against the tilting asphalt. Above them, the huge sword began to unfold itself.
The blade's structure realigned itself into the shape of a woman with the razor-sharp edges of the blade attached to her forearms and shins. The woman's head was crowned by a sharp, bladed halo and her entire body was made of the same, black, glossy surface as the sword she had been previously. Slowly, her form shrank until it was about the same size as the average human.
_"I am W7 the Blade of the World,"_the No One announced, her voice echoing across the street, cutting through the screams of the civilians.
Jason found a handhold in a leaking sewer pipe. A streak of black and gold slipped past him. His heart skipped a beat when he realised that was Sam hurtling down into the pit! He let go of the pipe, lunging for his son -
Thud!
His descent was suddenly stopped, his hands desperately snatching at the air as Sam's body slipped further and further away from him.
"Let me go!" he shouted. "I have to save Sam!"
"Jason!"
Brett
Fury filled him and he lashed out, digging Chronicle's edge deep into Brett's wrist. His shadowy mate let out a roar of pain, dark wings balking slightly. He couldn't understand why Brett wouldn't let him save Sam... save their son! Brett should be diving right after Sam along side him!
"I've got to get Sam!" Jason growled. "Let me go!"
"Jason..." Brett choked, his voice heavy with emotion. "Sam is dead... Just... Just let it go..."
"No!" Jason struggled, flailing madly and dragging Chronicle across Brett's arm, drawing blood. "I'm not going to say goodbye to another person I love! Not again!"
"Just... Let go!" Brett roared, hurling Jason upwards.
Jason flew through the air, a wave of nausea hitting him as the world spun wildly. His nausea was kicked out of him the instant he hit the footpath which remained steady and relatively straight. Flashes of colours crossed his vision as more supers came to the aid of their comrades and save the civilians. Brett landed next to him, panting heavily and clutching the arm he had injured.
"Jason... We can't do anything..." Brett whispered. It was hard to tell beneath the guise of Hellhound but Jason could tell his mate was crying. "Sam... Sam saved our lives... Don't go wasting that sacrifice on something stupid..."
"You don't understand!" Jason howled, scrambling to his feet.
He turned back towards the street. The huge chasm had cleaved right through the centre of the street like an earthquake and split the earth in two. H2's belts flung around the area like countless, deadly snakes, piercing the hearts of anyone close by and slaying them with the slightest of ease. K12 dealt with the supers, reflecting their attacks right back at them while their clones whittled away their defences. S-Zero unleashed true hell upon Newroads and the surrounding area, bringing for the ferocity of the sun, unleashing storms of asteroids and even sucking helpless victims into the voids of space with a flick of his sword.
Jason ignored it all...
He scrambled to the edge of the chasm, gazing down into the darkness... He thought he could see Sam's body... but he wasn't sure... just a little fleck of gold...
"I've got to..." he wept. "I've got to get Sam..."
"There's nothing you can do!" Brett cried. "Jason! I know how you feel! He was my son too! But we can't stand here and just let the No One's destroy everything and everyone! We'll have time to mourn later! But right now, we've got to get out of here, regroup and -"
Before he could finish the sky abruptly darkened to complete black. It wasn't a night sky. It was just a sky absent of all light. Tremendous thunderheads rolled in from the distance, lightning flashing between each one and sending peeling thunder to shake the ruins of the city. The dark clouds swirled into a single, colossal eye, looming dangerously above them all.
From the eye, a single figure dropped... A massive, black creature with huge, black, feathered wings...
Jason's eyes widened and he glanced back towards the far end of the chasm. Interestingly, the massive scar started at the foot of the Riley Corporation Building... The black figure dropped down the length of the titanic skyscraper, spreading its enormous wings and swooping in along the chasm like a terrible, black bird.
"Down..." he whispered, heart suddenly pounding in his chest. "Get down!"
He spun and pushed Brett to the ground just as the massive wings swept above them. Relief filled him as he felt Brett's heartbeat against his ears and he dared a glance over his shoulder as the large, raven-winged creature straightened in the air, the hundred-metre long wings folding against its back and forming a billowing, black, feathered cloak. The feline with the changing fur pattern and black armour turned to regard the destruction he had caused.
All the screaming had stopped.
Because everyone was dead.
"I am N9 the Neutral!" the No One shouted. "I too find this reality unworthy of existence!"
"You have no right to make that judgment!" shouted Warhorse, leaping up from the rubble, fist primed to slam into N9's face.
N9 didn't even flinch. His cloak simply unfurled again into the black wings, sweeping over Warhorse as they spread.
Jason felt the cold grip of fear clutch his heart.
Warhorse's face just looked blank... devoid of life... dead.
The super's body just fell limp, crumpling against N9's body and dropping into the chasm without so much a struggle.
Thunder roared and the screams of the people were replaced by loud weeping. Jason glanced left and right, seeing that there were still many people that N9 had missed. The other No Ones had vanished, probably sweeping off to the far corners of the world to sow their seeds of destruction. N9 shortly followed, swooping over the city, black wings sucking up the life of all those they passed, and disappearing into the horizon.
Jason glanced up into the swirling maelstrom of clouds and shuddered as an enormous, metallic structure began to pierce through the storm of thunder and lightning. Like an ominous silver spear, a huge floating metallic island bristling with weaponry hovered over the Riley Corporation Building. Eerie, angelic motifs covered the structure, cannons of alien design jutting from the angel's mouths while their wings formed the parapet of what had to be the floating castle's walls. The machine was so tremendous that it was impossible to see the top as it simply vanished into the swirling clouds.
"I am D8 the Derelict,"_a metallic, ominous voice boomed from the metal castle, _"and I find this reality unfit_for existence!"_
Each of the cannons was suddenly primed for fire.
There had to be thousands of cannons!
"Jason!"
Jason suddenly felt Brett wrap his arms tightly around him and he couldn't help but hold his mate tightly in return. He could imagine what kind of destruction was happening across the planet... In fact... across their entire reality. It tore at him knowing that the majority of the No Ones had voted to destroy Enria...
... but only after Sam had died.
Some part of him didn't want to live in a world without his son...
... but at the same time...
"Brett..." he whispered, closing his eyes.
Brett dropped his Hellhound guise so that they could see each other's face... one last time.
Jason heard the weeping erupt into terrible screams as the cannons fired. He felt the heat rising in the direction of the weapons, knowing that the end of come as they were incinerated into oblivion. Shutting his eyes, he leaned forward the give his love... one... last... goodbye...
"NO!"
The scorching heat suddenly dissipated as that familiar, artificially created voice cut through the cries and wails.
Jason glanced up... to find a figure dressed in head to toe in black armour with circuitry running across its surface. A white and gold, billowing coat hung across the being's shoulders, a large, bat-like helm with a 'V' shaped glass visor resting on the proud shoulders. In one hand, the No One held a long, golden blade shaped similarly to a clock's hand.
"I am T13 the Traveller of Time!"_the No One shouted. _"And I defy you, D8! I find this reality worthy of existence! The future of this world does not_end today!"_
What...?
Is... T13 fighting back...?
Fighting for... us?
Many of K12's clones turned and charged at the rebellious No One. T13 waved hand towards them and each froze in space, merely unmoving. The No One coolly lifted his free hand and clicked his fingers, the sound echoing across the otherwise silent ruins clearly. Each of the clones just suddenly shattered like glass, the shards crumbling to the ground of falling into the chasm.
Light pierced the looming clouds around the titanic, metallic cannon. Like the heavens had finally come to save the righteous, the light split the clouds, shining down upon Newroads and basking select areas in warming light. A brilliant, glowing figure descended from the sky, a being dressed in billowing robes whilst holding a silver globe in one hand and a long staff in the other.
"I am A11 the Ascended. I find the hearts of the mortals in this world worthy of existence! Cease your assault now, D8!"
As an answer, several of D8's cannons swivelled around to face A11 and fired. The orb in the No One's hand suddenly shifted, becoming a huge metal shield that blocked the blasts from D8's castle with ease.
"T13!"_A11 shouted. _"I will bar D8's assault! Bring the civilians to safety! I will prevent D8 from firing Devastation!"
T13 nodded, lifting his blade towards the air. "Adhere to the plan, A11!"
Plan...?
Jason pulled away from Brett's grip. "What plan!?" he demanded, grabbing T13's shoulder. "Was this all part of R3's big scheme!?"
Even with his features hidden behind that helmet, Jason was sure T13 was giving him a panicked look.
"This is not the time, Jason. We must get everyone to safety!"
"I'm not moving an inch until -"
WHACK!
Darkness...
****
Day 20
Jason recognised where he was...
A plane of endless white... with a titanic door standing in front of him. Ironically, the door's centre - a massive, crystal heart - still remained despite feeling a terrible emptiness in his own heart... Knowing full well that beyond that door was the world of the waking, Jason turned his back towards it. If he could stay in this limbo of nothingness that symbolised his own hollow heart, then he didn't mind.
He had lost Sam.
There was nothing in the world for him...
"Really? Not even Brett?"
He glanced to his right where R3 sat with his helmet off... again wearing the grim mockery of Sam's face. The No One sat idly on a crystal chair, holding what appeared to be the hardcover of a book... without the pages. Quite literally an empty book. And yet it seemed he was still reading it.
"What about Dan? Robin and Warren with their unborn children? None of them are worth returning to the world for?"
Anger boiled up in Jason and he stomped over, fists clenched and fangs gnashed so forcefully together that his gums began screaming in pain.
"What the hell are you doing!?" he demanded. "My home is being destroyed and pulled apart! Where the hell are you!?"
"Where I'm supposed to be," R3 replied casually. "Despite my power, Jason, sometimes even I am bound by the actions of others. Sometimes, all I can do is follow the path of destiny. I made a choice and now I have to suffer the consequences of that choice. If it means the inability to act, then I live by that."
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Jason shouted, throwing his hands into the air. "You're the Writer of Reality! If you can't alter fate, who can!?"
R3's smirk just gave Jason slight indigestion. "How about you?"
What...?
"Me...?"
R3 nodded. "D8 doesn't know it yet but all existence is bound to what will happen in the next few days. Should things not go in a certain way... Even D8 will cease to exist. If they do... then we get to keep writing our stories."
Jason slammed his fists against the crystal table in front of R3, the noise echoing across the vast emptiness. "You're not making sense!"
"That's because you're not listening," R3 answered, still with that smug smirk on his face. "Jason, just listen to me very carefully. T13 the Traveller of Time, A11 the Ascended, V10 the Valiant, I5 it Ingenious and L4 the Liaison of Life are all fighting for you."
"What does that have to do with anything?" he growled back. There was an empty chair sitting opposite to R3 but he opted not to take it... yet.
"Give it some thought."
T13... A11... V10... I5 and L4...
Time, the Heart, the Mind, the Soul... and Life...
"I don't get it..."
"Perhaps looking at it from a different perspective will help," R3 replied regarding the book shell in his hand curiously. "Who is against you?"
"S-Zero, H2, W7, D8, N9 and K12..."
Space, Chaos, Order, Energy, Death and Change...
"Still nothing?" R3 asked.
This time, Jason took the seat. "No..."
"What is the difference between a god and a mortal?"
"Is there really time for this?" Jason snarled.
R3 shrugged. "If I don't succeed in convincing you to go back through that door, it won't matter, right?"
True...
"I dunno... A god has power over mortals...?"
"Not quite. I keep telling you that there are no such things as gods, just mortals. Both statements are true in a way. Every mortal is the god of their own reality with reality being their perception of the world around them. Now consider this: a god is more a concept given life than an actual living being. Gods are static. Mortals are every changing."
"So?" Jason replied hotly.
"Consider those No Ones attempting to destroy Enria. S-Zero seeks to preserve inter-dimensional peace by destroying the three entities that inhabit your world with the power to travel through said dimensions. He's become quite narrow-minded as he automatically assumes that the origins of these three are inherently evil or malevolent."
It was true... S-Zero mentioned that if one of those entities were consumed by rage, it would unleash so much hell on all the realities that it would undo the very fabric of all existence... But... was that even possible? What if the creature was just too good?
"Now think of H2 who is in this just for the chance to unleash chaos upon the world," R3 continued with a shrug. "Like a child, he merely follows what he thinks he's meant to do without considering the consequences. Tell a baby to touch the stove, they'll touch it until they learn their lesson. Tell a child that pain is good and they'll learn to love pain. H2 is no different. He has become quite static in his belief that he's only meant to sow chaos in the world when, in fact, he has to learn when to back down.
"Furthermore, W7 who embodies order sees that Enria needs to be re-ordered. She has an image of 'perfection' in her eyes and seeks to destroy the world to 'fix' it. However, is Enria broken? N9 believes that since he represents death, it is his duty to deliver death regardless of the reason whether he likes it or not. A 'death god' does not choose whether a person lives or dies. A death god stoically believes everyone will die eventually and it's just a matter of 'when'.
"Then there is K12 who is consumed by sorrow at the thought that because Sam, your son, died, she must retaliate. Your reality has been shattered so it is her duty, as someone who honours and respects you as a person, to shatter the realities of those around her.
"Then there's D8 who is just so obsessed with power that because Dan cut him down a few pegs a few decades ago, he now has to prove himself top dog by destroying the world that Dan loves so much. He can't lift himself up so he has to bring everyone else down."
Jason shook his head. "What does this have to do with anything?"
"Those No Ones have become gods," R3 replied with a smile. "And we No Ones are not gods. We're mortals. Those No Ones are stuck. They've become static representations of what they think they are. While that makes them mortal in one respect... it makes them more like 'flawed gods' than anything else.
"Because of that, their vision of the future has become extremely narrow." R3 gestured at the book he held. "Do you know what this is?"
"An empty book cover?" Jason replied dully.
"Yes. It's my story."
...
Jason stared at the shell... "Your story is... empty?"
"Correct," R3 answered. "Because as it stands right now, if the No Ones fighting to destroy Enria succeed... I will cease to exist."
That struck Jason light a ferocious lightning bolt shaped like the word 'Realisation'.
This was the reason R3 couldn't act! The current events directly affected him! He was tied closely to Enria and if D8 succeeded in destroying the reality... R3 would no longer exist...
Then Jason saw what R3 was talking about...
"D8 and the others don't see what's coming..." he whispered. "They only see their goal and what they want... but not where it'll lead..."
And he realised how the other No Ones knew why they had to fight back.
Time, Mind, Life, Heart and Soul... T13 could look into the future and the others were not so blind as D8 and his followers... They saw what would happened...
"How...?" Jason whispered, regarding R3 with fear in his eyes. "Why...?"
"Let's just say that I have very large ties to Enria," R3 replied calmly with a smile. "Should Enria be destroyed, those ties will shatter me and I will no longer exist. If I no longer exist, none of the No Ones will exist... not even EX the Existent... And that would mean all of Existence will be destroyed and unravelled."
Jason jumped to his feet, knocking the crystal chair over. "We have to tell them! We have to make them stop!"
R3 raised Sam's golden eyebrow. "Oh? You're going back then?"
...
I... I don't know...
"There's... There's nothing there for me..." he murmured.
R3 lowered the empty book shell on the table. "When you open and door and step through it, that's billions of doors unopened and not accessed. However, there is nothing stopping you from doubling back and looking for those same doors again."
Hope suddenly sparked in Jason's heart...
"You mean...?"
"Life is hardly a linear progression," R3 chuckled, grinning brightly just the way Sam used to. For some reason, Jason didn't feel insulted that R3 was using his son's face anymore. "The paths we care out in the sand aren't just a straight line. They curl, curve, twist and even split off in several directions. It might take a while, it might even be next to impossible but sometimes, we'll be able to find those same doors that we missed and step through into a world that we thought we had passed by.
"The key is to always keep hoping. When you stop hoping, you stop walking."
R3 stood up patting Jason's shoulder. "Never stop walking, Jason."
The No One turned and started heading off into the distant white horizon.
Jason's heart was suddenly filled with hope... so much hope that it was about to burst... But he needed confirmation.
"Wait! Will I see Sam again!"
R3 stopped for a second... then turned his head towards Jason, Sam's grin on his face. "He didn't say goodbye."
The door behind Jason sprung open...
Yeah... All he said was...
'See you later...'
****
Day 20
His eyes fluttered open and Jason let out a soft gasp as he rapidly took in his surroundings. The light from some dull light source temporarily blinded him but he shook it off and sat up. His surroundings were familiar...
Large, luxurious carpet... magnificent, tall walls... expensive portraits of former Riley Family Heads...
He was in the Riley Summer Home!
"What the...?"
"Jase!"
Brett came bounding over to him, scrambling over the large sheets of the four-poster bed he lay in. There were countless others gathered around, lying on the ground or sitting in the chairs, slouched over and nursing wounds Guilt stabbed at him knowing he was in a bed by himself when it seemed the room was crowded with the injured.
"Thank god!" his Rottweiler sighed, kissing him tenderly. "I thought you were in another coma!"
"Wouldn't dream of it," Jason chuckled.
The air rippled around them and T13 appeared in a faint wash of golden light. All the people around them gasped and instantly shied away from the No One.
"I am glad to see you are awake, Jason."
"Thanks," he answered, rising to his feet. "What happened while I was out...?"
In fact...
"What was I out...?"
Brett coughed loudly. "You were... hysterical... I needed to calm you down..."
Jason bristled and gave his mate a piercing stare. "So you knocked me out?"
"I didn't have an anaesthetic handy!"
For some reason... Jason just found that funny and chuckled. That left Brett a little surprised. Turning back to T13, he said, "So what's been happening?"
_"We are stalling the other No Ones,"_T13 answered grimly.
Jason got up from the bed and staggered a little. With Brett's help, he was able to stand securely and start wading through the mess of bodies as countless people rested on the ground, looking up at them for hope. He gently reached over to two kids who both had their arms in slings and he placed them onto the bed, giving their hair a faint tussle. That gave other parents the cue to occupy the bed.
T13 led them out of the room and into the overcrowded hallways.
L4 the Liaison of Life was hovering over the injured with countless of her Advocates scrambling from room to room. Light spilled from their palms as they healed the injured. The No One appeared as a tall, leather-clad human, the leather being designed as predominantly white with red stripes running down the sides. Her eyes were concealed by a black visor that was latched to her head. Billowing, jet-black hair tumbled down her back and were braided into three, separate ponytails that reached her heels.
She gave them a faint smile as they passed.
"I5 is currently engaging K12,"_T13 reported. _"She is attempting to keep the Karmic away from this planet as much as possible but it is proving difficult. At the very least, K12 is not within the force field that V10 has erected around Newroads. K12 is attempting to cause mass mutations in all mortals and alter them so rapidly that they will become monstrosities and attack one another. V10 is also currently battling H2 as she keeps the force field intact. H2 is on a campaign to cause countless galaxies to erupt simultaneously.
"A11 has stalled D8's attempt to fire Devastation -the enormous castle you saw - and thus end this reality but that is proving to be difficult as well. As you can see, L4 is here attending to the wounded as well as combating W7 as the latter attempts to cause the sun to go supernova."
T13 staggered for a moment and shook his head.
"Are you alright?" Brett asked worried.
"Yes... S-Zero just caught delivered an inescapable blow... He created an immense black hole in space that almost caused to planets to collide... I had to travel back in time and alter the path of the planets at their creation to avoid that..."
Jason winced.
That was a lot of power...
What was more... The No Ones were battling their counterparts while still aiding the wounded here...
"I am also opening doorways into other Realities,"_T13 said as they entered the main hall. There, a large, golden gateway stood with several Advocates ushering people through it. Other doorways were erected around the area, people from Enria pouring in from all directions. _"We are evacuating this reality."
And that was the plan...
The No Ones fighting on their side were severely outnumbered... There was no way they could fight back... Their only option was to save as many as they could.
"Wait..." Jason began, counting off the No Ones in his head. "What about N9? Where's he?"
T13 shook his head sadly. "He is the one No One we cannot counter. He is currently sweeping across the reality destroying entire planets and species off the reality at a rapid rate."
Crap...
Jason's fist clenched.
There was hope... There was always hope.
He wasn't about to give up yet.
Wait...
"Dan!" he announced. "Where's Dan!?"
T13 shrugged. "I am sorry, Jason. We have not been able to locate him yet. We simply do not have the resources. Fighting against our counterparts - creatures of equal power - and holding this reality together while severely outnumbered is wearing at us." The No One flinched.
"What did he do now?" Brett asked.
"S-Zero..."_T13's voice was heavy with grim emotion. _"S-Zero just threw an entire planet into the core of a sun... The mortals on that planet were instantly burned... and the sun consequently has gone supernova. Thankfully, the species was quite advanced and I was able to transport their entire space stations through time to the moment after_the sun wiped out their entire solar system... I am currently doing repairs to ensure they survive..."_
Jason shuddered.
This was getting out of hand...
"We have to find Dan," he said firmly. "If we find Dan, we can even the odds!"
Brett blinked at him in surprise. "Jason...?"
Jason pushed past his mate and scrambled onto a table in the main foyer so that everyone could see him.
"Hey! Everyone! Up here!"
All eyes flung towards him. Eyes filled with regret... despair... and hopelessness...
"We can't leave! I know it seems hopeless but all of you" - he made a sweeping gesture with his shout at the massive crowd - "are from this world! You can't just turn your back on it! We have to fight for our home!"
"Jason..." Brett hissed, grabbing his arm fiercely. "You can't be serious!"
Jason ignored his mate. "Each and every one of us is the master - the god - of our own reality. You can step through that door if you want and enter someone else's reality but right now, your reality needs you! This is your home! This is a world that you've helped forge with your own hands! If you abandon it, you're abandoning your right to your reality!
"Those guys out there" - he pointed in a random direction - "they're not gods. They're mortals just like you and me! Sure they have crazy powers and have the ability to cleave through the stars but you know what? Those are our stars! That's our sun! Our sky! This is our world! If we just let them come in, tell us we're 'not worthy of existing' and accept it, what do you think will happen when you step through those doors?"
The crowd paused... and turned towards the golden door that would lead them to their escape.
"I'm not saying that all of them are bad," Jason said, glancing over his shoulder at T13 and smiling at the No One. "None of them are. They're mortals just like us... and just like us, they get obsessive... they get confused... and sometimes, they make the wrong choices." His eyes flicked back towards the crowd. "But if we let them get away with it, if we just let them make those wrong choices, they're just going to keep making more!
"They have the right to their stories - their fates, their destinies - just as much as we do. But if we don't stand up and tell them when they're messing with our stories, then they're taking away our right to our tales!
"We have to stand up and tell them they're wrong!" he shouted, his voice booming across the entire hall. People were pouring in from all the wings of the rooms... looking in to see who was shouting... who was trying to offer hope to the hopeless.
Jason suddenly felt embarrassed... suddenly felt his knees go weak.
Oh man... Was this such a good idea...?
There were so many eyes looking towards him... Some were still filled with that hopeless void... Others were halfway to believing him... There wasn't a single one that looked about ready to stand up and fight with him.
"He's right!"
Jason jumped as his mate rose to stand beside him. "Brett!?"
"They might think we're not worthy to exist!" Brett cried. "But you know what? I say we are! I've made some bad mistakes in my life... horrible mistakes..." Those soft, brown orbs turned to Jason... and they shared a heartfelt glance. "... but that doesn't mean I can't make them right." Brett glanced back towards the crowd. "I want that chance to make them right! I want to stand tall and tell the world that I messed up and I want to be better for it!
"I want to exist!"
"Us too!"
Two figures cut through the crowd. One was a rather small, silver-haired woman and the other was massive red-scaled dragon that used his bulk to shove aside the crowd.
Robin leapt up onto the table beside Warren and Jason.
"Our future in this world doesn't end just because some bastard said so!" Robin announced. "What do we do when someone in power does something we don't like? We fight back! We tell them what we think! Even when they don't want to listen, we make them listen! We'll stand side by side, hand in hand" - as if to emphasise her point, Robin seized Jason's and Warren's hand - "and we'll rise up to show them we're afraid but we won't go down without a fight!
"I want to exist!"
"We've stood up against the odds before!" Warren boomed, lifting up his hand -tightly clasped around Robin's - into the air. "But we've always stood together. We're all Enrians! We fight as Enrians! And We'll die as Enrians!
"I want to exist!"
A chant began building...
"I want to exist... I want to exist... I want to exist..."
Like tiny stars coming to life, Jason watched as hope entered the eyes of those in the crowd. Soon, there were so many that it became impossible to count... The chant grew louder and louder...
"I want to exist... I want to exist... I want to exist..."
T13's voice cut through it all.
"You are all foolish."
All the hope seemed to die as the No One rose up to stand right beside Brett.
"You all want to exist?" the Traveller of Time scoffed.
No one answered him.
"How can you want something you already have?"_T13's voice rose. _"You all do_exist! You have that right! You should not want to exist because that is something you are all entitled to! You_ will_exist!"_
All that hope suddenly exploded, erupting in a brilliant roar from each and every person. The light of their hope shone brightly... cutting through all the despair...
"We exist! We exist! We exist!"
Jason beamed.
There was hope...
... and there was something in this world living for.
He existed... and as long as he existed... there was hope.
"I'll come up with a strategy," Warren said with a broad grin, hiking his thumb towards himself. "If my military training has taught me anything, it's no matter how strong you are, you can't stand against a unified people. Let's see if that applies to No Ones!"
"I'll rally the supers," Robin added. "They'll have the strongest chance to stand up against the No Ones or at least make a suitable distraction for the others to do something."
T13 chuckled faintly. "Suddenly... I see another future... One that is much brighter..." He glanced between Jason and Brett. "Yes... I think it is a distinct possibility now..."
"What is?" Jason replied, head inclined to the side.
Robin and Warren stepped down, shouting orders. The golden doors to T13's escape reality shut and disappeared to offer more room for the people to pour in and assemble into proper ranks.
"A future where Enria exists and happiness exists for you both..." T13 chuckled. "I keep forgetting the power of simple words..."
"Words are nothing without the heart to back it up."
"That did not seem the case when your son died."
Oddly enough... Jason didn't feel any pain from that and merely smiled. "I'll see him again one day."
"Hmmm... Yes, I suspect you will."_T13 shook his head. _"With the evacuations effectively put on hold, I can focus on dealing with S-Zero. I can now send my Advocates to support the others. Hopefully stall N9's path of death.
"I believe V10 should be able to arm your troops with more effective weaponry..."
Jason held up a hand. "No... Attacking the No One is only going to get people killed. What we need is to prove to them that Enria deserves to exist after all."
Brett folded his arms securely across his chest and stared at Jason sceptically. "That'll take some doing, Jase. If you're not trying to escape their crazy attacks, you'll be dodging their Advocates. How do you expect to get close enough to tell them they're wrong?"
Jason's smile faded slightly. "S-Zero is concerned about the 'three inter-dimensional beings' here... We need to find them and tell him that they aren't a danger. H2 is probably the only person we need to stop completely but I guess if D8 is stopped, he'll stop too. W7 needs to see that this reality is working just fine as it is and K12 has to know that we don't bear any hard feelings towards those that killed..." Jason choked a little. "...killed Sam... At least not enough to warrant destroying all of Enria... N9 is the only one I'm not sure about..."
Someone cleared their throat loudly and the three of them turned.
Chris stood a few paces away... with Todd flanking him. Brett's hackles rose and even T13 looked tense.
"Jason... I believe you already know that I am one of those inter-dimensional beings," Chris began.
"Yeah..." Jason answered grimly. "You're an Advocate. R3's Advocate."
T13 balked in surprise. "I see... That must be why I cannot sense your intentions... R3 was very thorough in protecting you..."
"It's comforting that you're actually following your heart instead of just relying on probabilities and statistics, T13," Chris chuckled.
"R3 taught me long ago that there is no certainty in life," the No One responded reverently. "While I may see how time will progress, it is not set in stone. I do not see all possibilities like R3, I simply see where this one timeline will go. However, R3 taught me to believe and no matter how hopeless a situation may be, time can still change."
There, Chris nodded. "Yeah... He taught me something similar..."
Wow... R3's affected everyone's lives so deeply...
Maybe I don't give the old man enough credit...
"I have two pieces of information for you, Jason," Chris said, holding up two fingers. "The first is that the people that destroyed the floats during the Endyear Parade was a group of supervillains trying to take advantage of your weakness. No relation to the No Ones whatsoever. They also have Dan captured."
Jason's heart skipped to his throat and blocked him from erupting in a violent shout.
So Brett did it for him instead.
"WHAT!?"
Chris sighed grimly. "I discovered it while we were fleeing from the other No Ones. One of the villains got severely injured and told where were Dan was being kept. He's at a warehouse in the docks. They were planning to use him as ransom in case you managed to survive."
Jason growled, fangs bared. He was starting to think that maybe K12 might be in the right after all... But he shook that aside, knowing full well that the entire reality didn't deserve to be destroyed over something that happened quite often. Sure it had been Sam - Sam, who was the only being ever to be born in true colour and Jason and Brett's son - that had died but none of the villains had any idea about that.
It would've been unfair to expect that knowledge from them.
"We'll head over there now," Jason said firmly. "If we can rescue Dan, it'll help tip the balance in our favour."
T13 seized his arm. "Jason, remember that Dan's abilities are restricted in his current form. If you intend for him to aid us as F6 the Patriarch, he would have to..."
...
I... I hadn't thought about that...
If the balance of No Ones was to be returned... Dan would have to kill himself... To return to his position as F6... and...
Jason shook his head. "We'll worry about that later. We need to save Dan first!"
He spun... Then remembered that Chris was still holding up one finger... for the one last piece of information he had to offer. Turning back to Legion, he said, "And the other thing...?"
Chris took a deep breath... and turned to Todd... breath held. "The other inter-dimensional being... is Todd... He's an Advocate too... R3's Advocate..."
Surprise factor of 6 out of 10.
Pretty surprising but after all that had happened, nothing overly major. R3 did release his Advocates so it was pretty much expected that there would be a few on Enria.
"Okay, great," Jason replied. "Let's go. We can use your powers too, Todd."
"Erm... That's not quite all of it, Jason," Todd began with a wince.
Oh god... What now...?
"It's me... Jason... Kevin... I'm really Kevin Riley."