Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

The Omega Timeline

Chapter 55, Part 1: Yin and Yang

- by Ben

“There is no good and evil. Only shades of gray.”

Heroes. Villains.

What defines one?

Is it by their actions, and their deeds? Or is it their motivations and reasons? Perhaps it is how they perceive themselves, or how others perceive them? Light, and darkness? Is there no such thing as true good and true evil? Just a mixture of both good and the bad?

In this tale, within the Omega Timeline, and as Stories intersect, there can never be a true, definitive answer to this question. Humans and creatures alike will always find it within their roots to act out of basic instinct. The instinct to survive, and the will to evolve in order to do so, no matter their environments. Whether it be in the sprawling metropolitan cities, the ancient cities of the future, or the distant islands that roam the stars, it is within nature to survive.

The answer may never be known.

Samuel enjoyed pondering the future. And how to survive. He did many bad deeds, for sure, but it was merely the will to survive. Could he view himself as a villain?

“For now, yes,” Samuel thought, as he approached the terminal of the Black Obelisk, “If it means escaping and returning to my home world. I’ll let it be so.”

Samuel looked back at the carnage behind him. Smoke billowed out of the city, the cries and screams of the innocents torturing his ears. If he was a “hero”, would he go back and help them? Would he redeem himself, simply to be perceived as good? Or would he be the “villain”, and selfishly escape as everyone suffered?

He would be the villain.

“Story Intersection,” a voice read, “User detected: automatically opening ‘The Arks: Over Heaven’.”

A list of villains from his home world manifested in front of Samuel’s tired eyes. He just needed to confirm his suspicion, no, his hope.

The list was sorted based on power.

So, he scrolled all the way to the bottom, and lo and behold, his name was there on the list, flickering ever so slightly, as if the Obelisk was unsure if Samuel was truly a hero or villain. A slight smile grew on Samuel’s face. This was turning out perfectly for him.

Samuel pressed on his file. A picture of his face showed up. It wasn’t intimidating, or terrifying at the least. It was just him smiling, a graduation cap on his head and energy in his eyes. He looked happy. Samuel was sure happiness was an emotion only befitting of someone who deserved it. Someone heroic.

One button attracted his attention.

“Extract.”

This was it then. With just the press of a button, he’d return home.

Samuel thought about his former allies. Neddy, Ruby, Aurora, and Star. Despite their betrayal, a part of him hoped that they’d be alive after all this. And that, one day, they could meet again.

Before Samuel pressed the button, he went back and observed the list of villains, starting from top to bottom. Most were unfamiliar names. Loki, Jerry, June, General Wyvern. But one stood out to him. The one at the very top of the list.

Dan Walker.

The President of his nation.

“Interesting,” Samuel thought.

Curiosity almost urged him to press on his file. Abstract him, just for the fun of it. That’s what a real villain would do. Wreak havoc, just because.

Samuel suppressed his thoughts. Enough of this. It was time to go. But for now, he’d have the knowledge that this man was dangerous.

Samuel went back to his file, and quickly tapped on the button.

For a moment, nothing happened. Before Samuel could back away and believe it was just a fluke, his body felt emptier. There was a pit growing in his heart, and as he looked down, he realized why. He was fading away, glitching in and out of reality.

He didn’t know why, but he felt afraid. What if this was it? What if he was going to die, right then and there? Those thoughts flooded his mind like a hurricane, and he let out a cry and held his head in his hands.

“STOP IT! MAKE IT STOP!” Samuel shouted.

He thought of his father. His mother. And his sister, who had died because of the world’s ways.

And then, he stopped thinking.

Samuel was gone.

For now.

~

Sig tread the streets carefully, watching every angle around her. The opposition had retreated to their mansion in the clouds, while the villains had either submitted to Drain and became his Nights or had frozen in an effort to oppose him.

Sig grumbled to herself. Things were getting out of claw. What was supposed to be a massacre for her to enjoy soon transformed into a hasty escape. Sig licked her lips, and shook her head. Her appetite would have to wait.

Sig looked ahead to see a bar with its lights still turned on.

“Peculiar,” Sig thought with a sudden smile, “Most of the residents should have evacuated by now, no?”

Sig went to investigate.

~

“Ah. It’s you.”

“You remember me don’t you?” June asked sweetly, “We talked after your tennis match with Aurora.”

“Ben… knows Aurora?” Emma realized with a thought, “But I thought Ben doesn’t know them?”

Neddy and Ruby seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Yes. I do,” Ben replied blankly, annoyance written across his posture. He tipped his sunglasses and pressed them back against his head, “What do you want?”

“Well, it’s clearly not safe here. You see the carnage in the sky, the blood moon, and the fact that those two boys in the back disappeared without a trace through some witchcraft!” June argued, “We need to get you out of here.”

“Uhh, okay?” Ben replied, barely moving an inch off his seat, “Where would we even go?”

“On the way here to the city,” June answered, “I saw lots of wilderness. Uninhabited, I’m sure. If we make our way there, we can be safe from the dangers here.”

“Hmm, where did she spawn to have to come here to the city?” Ruby thought to herself, “Suspicious. All of us humans from our time spawned at the school, except for that half-naked boy, who was working for the villains.”

“Okay, I guess we could go then. I’m not looking to stick around anyway.”

Neddy stood up.

“What?! Come on bro! You can’t just leave us hanging like that!” Neddy shouted, “We’ve gotta help Aurora! We’ve gotta help Star! And Emma’s family!”

Ben scoffed.

“I’m just trying to survive. And I never said you couldn’t come with us.”

“But it’s not the right thing to do, to just abandon them. They don’t deserve to die.”

“Neither do I,” Ben closed his eyes, “Let’s get out of here.”

June prepared herself to walk out the bar, but Emma quickly grabbed Ben’s arm.

“This man could really help turn the tide of the battle,” Emma thought, “And I want to learn more about him. Why do my visions show he’s from my ‘time’?”

Emma whispered to him,

“I can see you don’t really like her. Are you sure you wanna go through with this? We need all the help we can get. What about that Bear?”

Ben almost smirked for a moment.

“I can deal with a nuisance for a few days,” he replied, “A harbinger of fear and death? No thanks.”

Disheartened, Emma let go of his arm. Ben hid his hands in his pockets, and stepped forward when suddenly the fridge behind the counter came crashing down.

CRASH!

Heads immediately turned, and gasps rang out as a man had fallen out of the fridge. He had a wild, wacky style of clothes, and he slowly began to glitch in and out. He got up from the ground and scurried to Ben and June.

“H-Hold up! Don’t leave me behind! I want to get out of here too-”

June quickly got into a fighting position, and fire sprouted from her hands.

“Stay back!”

The man raised his hands up in surrender.

“I’m sorry to have startled you ma’am,” the man apologized, “Please don’t hurt me!”

“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t,” June spat. Ruby looked back and forth at the conversation, her suspicions that June had been summoned using the Black Obelisk growing more and more.

Ben sighed, roughly grabbing June by the arm and shoving it down.

“Relax. He’s just the bartender, Paul,” Ben explained, a slight sharpness and sadness to his tone, “Let him come with us.”

“Okay, whatever you say,” June replied, turning her flame off and lowering her fists. Paul let out a sigh of relief, and bowed to the two of them.

“Thank you very much! Now I’ve heard you wanted to travel out to the Farlands.”

“Farlands? What do you mean?” June raised her eyebrow.

“The areas out there untouched by us civilized folk,” Paul explained, “The areas we came from. Our original homes.”

“Civilized folk?” Emma wondered, “Could that mean there are other humans and creatures out there?”

“Yes. We were planning to go there,” Ben answered.

“Oh! Alright, good to know. I know a shortcut there,” Paul told them, “I didn’t really wanna go there at first, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Constellation City had been running smoothly the past who knows how many centuries until all those juiced up people and creatures just started destroying everything!”

Ben’s eyes sparkled at the name of the city.

“Wait, a shortcut?” June gasped, “Where?”

“The sewers. They lead to all the areas you could imagine. It’s right here in the back of the bar-”

Pounding footsteps suddenly rang out throughout the building. Neddy gulped, and they all looked outside to see a towering black beast of Giga-sized proportions slowly move into view of the glass doors. The beast lowered its head, peering into the building with its pale, ghost white eyes. A Reaper. Sig.

Neddy immediately stumbled backwards. Ruby stood up, unhooking her crossbow. Emma stood her ground, fists clenched and eyes staring back at the beast’s. Paul’s jaw dropped.

“Uhh, Paul, right?” Neddy asked, nervous.

“Yeah?”

“I think now would be a good time to show us where those sewers are.”

“Gladly, let’s go!!!” Paul shouted as he bolted away and through a staff only door. Neddy quickly followed, and Ruby hesitantly did as well. Only Ben, June, and Emma remained.

“You should go,” Ben told Emma, “You don’t have a power that could help, right?”

“No. I don’t,” Emma replied, “But I need to protect my family. And I want to prove you wrong.”

“And what exactly am I wrong about?” Ben asked as vines twirled forth from his sleeves. Flames burst from June’s fists.

“Dying doing the right thing is far better than living and regretting your choices.”

Ben smiled at Emma’s words. He shook his head in disbelief.

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

Sig let out a deep, guttering growl and then slammed her head into the bar’s walls. The wall immediately burst open, and Sig leaned forward and let out a growl, opening her mouth and exposing her sharp teeth.

Thoughts immediately began running rampant throughout the three’s heads.

“W-What IS that thing!” June ‘thought’, “I’ve got to get out of here. Now!”

June took a step back. So did Emma and Ben. Sig licked her lips, her pale white eyes glowing even deeper than before. Before any of the three humans could run, before Sig could begin her chase for death, a thought intercepted Ben’s brain.

“I wouldn’t listen to that thought if I were you.”

“Huh?” Ben wondered, “I thought that was you, KM.”

“You know I don’t speak in first person,” the thought ran again, “The Reaper is implanting her thoughts in you.”

“What are you?” Sig implanted in Ben’s head, “Who are you?”

“I’d love to tell you, and I’d love to take control of this man right now, but that’d spoil the fun for the Observers watching. My, my Ben. The villains have such powerful allies. I still cannot understand why you chose to side with these heroes.”

“Just shut up, the two of you,” Ben shouted, “These are MY thoughts!”

“Whatever you say. I’ll see you around, Sig.”

The thought disappeared. June turned to Ben in worry.

“Is something wrong?”

“If you’re feeling and thinking certain things,” Ben told them all, “Then don’t listen to those thoughts. It must be the Reaper. Push past the fear, you two.”

Emma and June stood their ground. Sig licked her lips again.

“This just makes things more fun,” Sig implanted in their heads.

Sig rushed forward and chomped at the three, and they all dived out of the way. June quickly retaliated with a few bursts of fire to the eye. Sig let out a shriek and shut her eyes. She slammed her head up into the ceiling, causing the building to collapse in on them.

Emma’s eyes rolled up to the back of her head as the debris fell, and her medallion began to glow. As June quickly ran outside the building, Ben grabbed Emma by the arm and tossed her outside roughly.

“Now’s not the time to get your visions,” Ben thought, rolling his eyes. As a chunk of stone almost hit Ben on the head, a wave of vines shot out the cracks and blocked Ben’s head, causing the stone to pile up around him. The vines quickly hit the debris to the side and carried Ben to safety.

“What do we do now?” June asked Ben, a little annoyed that he had saved Emma.

“We’ll have to hold the Reaper off until Emma recovers from her vision.”

June groaned. Sig burst from the debris, barely scathed, and only more angry than before. Sig looked at them with contempt.

“We’ve only just gotten started,” Sig implanted.

~

Emma looked on, her vision waning and her head aching.

She could see her father and mother together, and the two Shadowmanes Orbit and Moonbeam that had been abstracted by the White Obelisk were also there. Queen Sylveevee too.

And so was Sig.

“Dad… Mom…” Emma muttered to herself.

Emma could see Sylveevee transform into a Quetzal and launch herself onto Sig’s back, trying to push her and prevent her from attacking. Her father used the shadows around them to hold Sig down in place. Sig used her tail to whack Sylveevee away. Sylveevee quickly transformed back into human form.

“Let’s go,” Moonbeam exclaimed toward Emma’s mother. Emma’s mother nodded and clambered atop Moonbeam. Moonbeam ran forward and pounced at Sig. Sig’s eyes were filled with fury as she swiped her claws at them.

“NO!” Orbit cried out.

Orbit jumped forward and pushed the two out of the way, causing them to tumble to the ground.

“Orbit!” Moonbeam yelled, exasperated.

“I’m not losing you!” Orbit roared back.

The vision fast forwarded, and Emma felt her head throb again. She looked up to see Sig being pinned down by all of the Shadowmanes (and Sylveevee, who had also become a Shadowmane) and Aragorn with his shadows. Sylveevee dug her claws into Sig’s muzzle.

“Yield, or else,” Sylveevee snarled.

A small smile cracked on Sig’s face.

“I…”

Emma was hurtled out of the vision.

~

Once Emma’s eyes returned to normal, she looked around her to see she was propped up against the wall of a random building. She looked on to see June hurling fireballs at Sig’s face and Ben using vines to biff her at the sides. Sig let out an exasperated roar, before swinging her tail at the two of them and sending them flying toward her.

“OOF!” the two cried as their backs hit the brick wall. They slid down.

“It was fun playing with you all,” Sig laughed, “Especially you, plant human with the parasite. But it’s time I killed you all.”

Ben grumbled, slowly getting up. June shot up, rage in her eyes.

“Enough of this!” June cried, her eyes fiery. Flames began to trickle along her body.

Sweat was pouring down Ben’s face. The fight had been going on for about ten minutes already, but neither could do enough damage to even make Sig bleed. Ben’s vines were too blunt against Sig’s hardened plated armor, and June’s fire was just a mere flick to the Reaper’s exoskeleton.

“Wait, June,” Emma interjected, getting up from the ground.

“What is it?” June snapped.

“We can’t brute force this,” Emma told the two of them, “I had a vision of this Reaper. My parents and a few others defeated her by holding her down and using sharp weapons like swords and claws.”

“Hmm,” Ben muttered. He shot his hand out, and a pair of vines dove into the destroyed bar, retracting with three knives. A knife dropped in each of their hands. Ben twirled it around.

“I’m tired,” Ben realized solemnly, “I could barely summon that vine.”

“Well, you’ll have to push a little bit more. At the very most, we could hold her down and wound her to the point that we could get out of here and to the mansion where the others are,” Emma urged.

“Hey, don’t tell him what to do!” June shouted at her, “If he’s too tired to keep fighting, then we can run!”

Sig began to step forward. To her, she was the cat, and they were just mice. This would be easy pickings. Ben lifted his hand and tried summoning a vine, but he weakly dropped it.

“Damn,” Ben sighed, “I might have to…”

Ben thought, “Hey… friend? Are you there?”

“No. I’m not going to help you unless you LISTEN TO MY INSTRUCTIONS.”

Ben sighed.

“Guess not,” Ben wiped some sweat off his forehead, “That calls for my last ace. You said she needed to be held down, right?”

Emma nodded.

“Yes.”

Ben closed his eyes. The implant in his wrist began to glow.

“You won’t need to fight her. Just run. You’ll have… eh, I’d say five minutes at the most,” Ben decided, “You’re right though Emma. I don’t mind fighting it a little longer.”

“What!” June shouted, “I thought we were going to go! Far away from the danger!”

“You can do whatever. I’m staying back,” Ben decided firmly, “Once it’s over, I won’t be conscious. I don’t mind being left behind.”

June stepped forward.

“Then I’ll stay with you.”

Emma nodded, and looked ahead. Sig was almost upon them, creeping closer and closer.

“Now would be a good time-”

Ben looked up, holding his index finger up into the air. A singular vine twirled round and round, until finally reaching the fingertip. As it squeezed, Ben let out a groan. Vines suddenly began shooting around the ground and wrapping around Ben’s body, almost creating armor for him. A flower shot out of Ben’s right eye, and Ben opened his mouth and quickly uttered a few words.

“Attribute Amplification!” Ben yelled hoarsely, “BOTANICAL MAYHEM!”

Vines immediately shot out of the ground, tugging at Sig and pulling her down. She let out a screech as she went tumbling down on her side. Ben’s head jolted to look at Emma. Emma felt taken aback by his now hideous appearance. He looked like he could’ve been a villain.

“Thanks for giving me a purpose,” Ben clicked, “In this mundane Timeline.”

Ben’s head jolted back to face Sig. Large vine-like arms sprouted from his back and carried his limp body to Sig like a spider. Sig tried biting at Ben’s body, but the vines swayed him out of the way. June let out a scream, dropped her knife, and began hurling huge bolts of fire at Sig.

“DON’T YOU HURT HIM NOW YOU FOUL BEAST!” she screamed like a banshee. Emma looked at the knife in her hand. She looked back at Sig. Staying back would only endanger her. June could help Ben. But she needed to protect her family. Ben had told Emma to get out of there.

As Emma made a run for it back to the mansion, she looked back, feeling teary-eyed. Fire was beginning to burn the nearby buildings down, spreading quickly and without cause. Vines began to crawl throughout the cities too, covering the buildings and street lamps. Flowers began to blossom all over the streets.

Emma jerked her head away, looking ahead at the mansion in the clouds. It seemed that that horrible monster in the sky was now gone.

For now, at least.

Before Emma could move a step forward, her medallion suddenly glowed, and she felt her eyes roll up to the back of her head as another vision struck her.

~

Paul, Neddy, and Ruby had made landfall in the sewers using a manhole that was in the back of the bar, where the trash was. Surprisingly, it didn’t smell at all. The water was actually very clean, if anything.

“After the City was attacked, well, obviously there’s no time to do your business,” Paul explained, “Should be safe to go in the water.”

There were multiple streams of water leading to who knew where.

“Why are there so many?” Ruby asked, cautious of the sewage.

“Well, each one leads to a different area of the Farlands. But they all eventually end up in the Void, which is a good place to put all that junky feces and urine.”

“And do we get to know where we’re going?” Ruby asked once more, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope! You take your chances. Any place is better than here anyway. Off I go!”

Paul hopped in a random stream, and it immediately began to take him away. Neddy and Ruby watched as Paul screamed in fear from the intense current. They both sighed simultaneously.

“I guess we have to go,” Neddy muttered, disheartened and growing green while looking at the clean water. Ruby smirked.

“Yeah… Alright, you go first.”

“Wait, what-”

Ruby pushed Neddy into the water, and Neddy let out a scream as he began hurtling through the water. Ruby plugged her nose and jumped in after him.

As the three were taken away, Ruby passed by some graffiti. She could barely read what it was, but she was sure it was a message of sorts. Something that said, “Crystal Isles”.

~

Sig glowered at Ben as he skittered up to her, his eye glazed and his skin pale. Sig was really beginning to get annoyed by the supernatural humans that had been native to this world. She gave herself a reminder to gut this one as painfully as possible when the chance arrived.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Ben clicked. A black void began to swirl around Ben’s remaining left eye. Sig squinted her ghostly eyes. Was this the parasite inhabiting this human’s body?

“I will not kill you,” Ben, or whatever was speaking, claimed, “I couldn’t even if I wished.”

Sig smiled, already growing fond of the conversation.

“And why not?”

“This man should be unconscious by now. I took control,” the parasite explained, “Anyway, I’m running low on plausibility. Even though I’m not an Observer, it still treats me like one.”

“And what is this ‘it’?”

“I can’t say. It’ll know.”

Ben lifted one of his arms, almost like a doll being controlled by strings, and scratched his chin. He tilted one of his heads, his bones snapping in place.

“You want to kill, don’t you?” the parasite realized, “I don’t like that.”

“What will you do about it? You cannot kill me.”

“I won’t do anything about it. As much as I hate it, it works in my favor,” the parasite grinned, “A change of plans, if you will. No more trying to escape. It’s futile anyway.”

The parasite pointed at Sig.

“I want you to kill everyone in this Timeline,” the parasite demanded of her, “I will help you. Let me gift you something wonderful to aid you.”

A vine shot from his body and onto Sig’s. As it coiled around her tail, and up her chest, she suddenly felt all of the plant life around her humming. It was as if she could control it. Sig looked down, and willed the vines around her to unwrap her legs. The vines listened. She looked up at the parasite. The vines carrying it dangled the body of the man backwards, away from her reach.

“Things have been growing unfair for the villains,” the parasite sighed, “So this should even the odds-”

“You are quite the sentient parasite,” Sig grinned, “Do you have a name?”

The parasite was silent for just a moment. Then it spoke.

“You may call me KM. That is what my friends call me. And, I see you as a friend,” the parasite answered, “Goodbye for now, Sig. Just remember what I’ve requested of you. Kill as many as you can.”

“Gladly.”

Sig considered eating the other human now, the one with pyromancy, as she was incapable of defeating Sig, but by the time she realized that she had somehow disappeared, the parasite was gone too, along with his agrokinetic host.

Sig shook her head. The city wasn’t a good hunting ground for her. She was sure the others would deal with Drain, in due time. She needed blood though. And quickly. Looking past the city lines and out into the wilderness where the citizens had been evacuated, she knew exactly where they would be lurking.

Sig licked her lips.

This would be so much fun.

~

Drake led Sunhigh and Moonhigh down to where the White Obelisk was located. As the familiar crystals poking out of the cavern walls came into view, he noticed Sylveevee and Skyocean’s frozen bodies nearby, along with many of the others. Drake already felt hopeless looking at them all, but he had to push those feelings to the side. He had to stay strong. For the sake of Sylveevee’s children.

“Drake,” Moonhigh asked. Drake looked down at her.

“Yes?”

“Are Mom and Uncle going to be okay?” Drake could see tears already falling down her cheeks, “What if we can’t help them? What if they stay like this forever?”

Drake knelt down, looking into her eyes. His body felt weird. All the negative feelings in his mind were slowly being suppressed. And as he thought about his boss, his queen, and all the good memories he had with her and the others, he couldn’t help but feel at ease. It was as if the armor Andrew had given him was giving the hopes and dreams he had a chance to survive.

“They are going to be okay,” Drake reassured her, “I know they will. Your mother’s a strong woman. I know a bit of stone won’t hurt her. And so is Skyocean. They’ll be okay.”

Moonhigh smiled. Drake looked at Sunhigh. He seemed to be staring off into the distance, spacing out.

“I wish Cooper were here,” Sunhigh muttered, closing his eyes. Drake thought about his coworker. He was quite a handyman. And a good friend too.

“Me too, kid. Me too,” Drake got up, “Now I have to go. Stay safe and don’t get into any trouble okay?”

Meanwhile, Aragorn comforted his children.

“Dad,” Jack whispered. He looked up. Aragorn could see the fear in his eyes, “I’m scared.”

Aragorn wrapped his arms around Jack and Jay in a hug. He closed his eyes tight. He loved them so much.

“It’s okay to be afraid,” Aragorn whispered, “It’s what you do in the moment of that fear that matters most.”

Aragorn tapped the medallion on Jack’s chest.

“And remember, that this will protect you.”

Aragorn looked at Jay. He didn’t seem as afraid. He could create a portal at any time. They would be okay.

“Jay, if anything happens, create a portal and get out of here, somewhere far away,” Aragorn ordered him, “Take your brother and your mother with you, along with everyone else here.”

“But Dad, what about you-”

“I hate to tell you this but sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the greater good,” Aragorn told them, “No matter how much it hurts.”

Jay’s arms dropped.

“But I could help you! I could teleport you and the others out too-”

“That’s not what I mean by ‘if anything happens’.”

“Dad-”

“You have to do it if it comes down to it. Okay?” Aragorn felt close to tears.

Jay understood, even if he didn’t want to. He nodded slowly, wordlessly.

And then, Aragorn turned to Arianna.

The two lovers stared at each other’s eyes for a moment. It only seemed like yesterday they had first met. That they had first hated each other, and then grown to be a part of each other’s lives. Aragorn stepped forward. He could feel memories flowing in his head, memories of him and her together. The two, along with their long lost friends hurling snowballs at each other, laughing. The two sitting at a piano, with Arianna gently guiding his fingers onto the keys. Aragorn, taking a knee down, and proposing to Arianna. The two sharing a slow dance under the dim lighting of the mayors’ manor.

Aragorn felt a tear roll down his cheek. This may be his last battle.

Arianna wiped the tear away. Another came crashing down in waves. It was the first time Arianna had seen Aragorn cry in a long, long time. Arianna couldn’t help but cry too.

“I love you Arianna.”

Arianna smiled back.

“I love you too, James.”

Aragorn had not used that name in many, many years, for fear of his past coming back to haunt him. But all James could think about was his past, and how much he wanted to return to it. How much he missed his brother. He couldn’t care anymore that his true name was being used at that very moment in a room filled with people he used to distrust. He just wanted to return home.

The two shared a short kiss. Aragorn felt Arianna’s tears merge with his. The taste felt so sweet yet bitter at the same time. There were no remarks from the boys. Just silence, and their heartbeats.

Aragorn pulled away after a few seconds. He closed his eyes and sighed. It had to be done. He had to fight this war, or else his family may never be safe.

Love was blind. And selfless.

Aragorn looked away from his family, wiping away his tears so the others wouldn’t see. He walked up the stairs. Drake walked up the stairs along with him. Drake could tell he had a heavy look on his face. He was a father. He couldn’t afford dying.

“Hey,” Drake suddenly said. Aragorn looked at him, a raised eyebrow.

“What?”

“I know my group has had our fair share of differences with you,” Drake smiled, “But I’m glad to have worked with you.”

Aragorn gave a soft smile. The distrust he once had for him and Sylveevee was already long gone.

“Thank you. It was good working with you too.”

There was a moment of silence as they reached the hallways of the mansion again.

“You don’t have to do this,” Drake told him, “There are plenty of us. You can stay behind. Look after your family.”

Aragorn sighed, “I have to do this. Andrew will need all the help he can get. If anything it should be you staying behind. If those statues don’t return back to normal, you’ll be all those two have left.”

Drake paused, thinking for a moment. It was true. But Drake shook his head. He needed hope now.

“We’ll need to focus on the upcoming battle,” Drake told him, “Let’s cease this conversation.”

Aragorn nodded, respecting his decision. As the two made their way to the entrance, the two saw the others Knights waiting with Andrew in the main entrance, along with Darkhide, Joe Kong, and Andrew’s crewmates. The dodo statue that spouted water out of its beak was dormant, and everything already seemed like it was decaying. The presence of the Herald of Darkness already seemed to be taking its toll on the city.

“Are we ready?” Andrew asked the Knights.

All seven Knights nodded. Andrew could sense some of their nervousness. This was probably something they hadn’t ever experienced before. Andrew could relate, and he felt doubt and fear as well, but he needed to be brave. For the sake of their survival, and for the safety of the poor citizens who lived in this city.

Joe Kong walked up to Buddy. Buddy looked up at him. It felt so odd now. The two had just finished clearing up their own problems back home, and now they were thrown into this mess, forced to fight their old enemies once again.

“Buddy,” Joe Kong blurted. Buddy looked up and noticed tears in his eyes, “Thank you for being my friend. If you don’t make it out alive-”

“Don’t worry Joe. I will.”

“No, no-” Joe Kong sniffled, “You don’t get it. This whole time we were here I- after my parents died you were all I had left and I just rejected your friendship the first time and now you’re going off to fight some demon…”

Joe put his head in his hands and began to sob.

Buddy squinted his eyes sadly. He stood up on his hind legs and wrapped his arms around Joe.

“It’s okay buddy, it’s okay,” Buddy reassured him, “After all this, we can do some friend stuff.”

Joe let out a sniffle. His eyes were turning red.

“Thank you-”

Emerald looked back at Darkhide. Darkhide nodded at her.

“Don’t die, okay?” Darkhide told her, “But knowing you, you won’t.”

“Wow. Thanks, really reassuring,” Emerald chuckled, rolling her eyes. Darkhide returned a light chuckle. His eyes darted back to the dining room. He seemed to be reminiscing.

Andrew and Erica looked at Sylas and Freya. Sylas walked up to the two of them, a smile on his face.

“I know you have this whole new light show shtick now, but,” Sylas commented, looking him up and down.

“Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?” Freya smiled, “You too Erica.”

Sylas added on, “Yeah, leave that to me, like usual.”

Erica’s eyes looked down at the floor, and then back up at the two. Through it all, Erica was glad that they were a team. She looked at Andrew. She was glad he was a part of her team too. Not just a teammate. Someone she could call a friend.

Erica thought about Paul and Jonathan. She sighed. She wished they were okay, amidst all this chaos they had to endure.

Star was quiet. So was Tago, who seemed distracted by something. Star walked up to the doors and kicked at them, causing them to open. The Omega symbol plastered on the door split in half, and they saw smoke and fire brewing down below. Drain was coming, albeit slowly, until he arrived quite a few meters away from the base of the stairway. The wyvern-like Desmodus waited patiently.

Andrew and Erica were the first to walk down. They waved goodbye at their friends. Buddy and Tago followed, along with Aragorn and Drake. Star stepped down the stairs carefully, leaving Emerald last.

Emerald continued stepping down the stairs to catch up with the others. She looked back one last time to see Darkhide still watching, the doors still closed. By the time they had already reached the base, it was only then did he finally shut the door.

~

Drain had already taken off to the skies, slowly flying off to the mansion’s stairway. He was extremely confident in his ability to win. Hours, days, weeks, it didn’t matter how long it took for the heroes to come out of hiding. He had already won the battle the moment his power surpassed that of Apex.

Drain had ordered the rest of the Nights to hide between the building’s alleys and what not as an ambush against them, whenever they came out. For now, Drain left them to fend for themselves.

“H-Hey, Michael, right?” Lil Jack said, walking up to him. Michael turned with a jump.

“What?!”

“I was thinking,” Lil Jack offered, “When this is all over… we can team up and find a way out of here! This place is crazy. I don't wanna stick around any longer.”

Michael thought for a moment, then spoke.

“Sure, I guess…”

Meanwhile, Pat, Milo, and Dr. Bubba stuck together. All three shapeshifters would prove dangerous if used correctly.

Rockwell was still observing the qualities of his armor, fascinated by its magical properties. The more fascinated he felt, and the more of the urge he felt to grow more powerful and god-like, he could feel the armor harden further.

“Oh?” Rockwell realized, “Do my eyes deceive me?”

Rockwell thought about his former domain, the ARK known as Cryvenall. He was the most powerful being on that ARK, but here in this Timeline he was a mere human with some modified Edmundium injected in him.

He thought about how much he wanted to kill Drain.

The armor hardened again. Rockwell’s eyes almost looked like they were popping out. The Alpha glow around his body exploded into a dazzling red aura.

“Ah, this is splendid,” Rockwell grinned, “Perhaps this will work out in my favor.”

Fjordur’s Dragon looked upon the frozen Apex. Then his eyes glanced at the King Titan’s stone statue. Then toward the frozen Jerry. Ember, and Captain Shortstacks. A sudden realization came to him.

Besides Drain, he was the most powerful there.

For so many years of hiding away in the arena, waiting to be inevitably slain, and the countless humiliations he had to suffer in this Timeline, he could finally let his rage unleash upon everything and everyone.

Fjordur’s Dragon looked at his blue hands, and the sharp black armor around his arms and body. He clenched them into fists, and felt the fire in his body boil. He could already feel himself growing larger.

He thought about the absence of his name.

That would change.

He looked up to the smoke-riddled, red skies. He created a pledge to himself. He would create as much destruction and chaos as possible, as vengeance for the role he was born to take.

He would be Entropy.

~

Andrew and the seven Knights of Light reached the base of the stairway, looking off at Drain. The hideous beast tilted his head in awe at the sight of Andrew. There was a moment of serenity. Despite the inevitable battle, there was peace.

“The Dagger of Balance has also chosen you to be a Herald, I assume? To be my opposite? A ‘Herald of Light’?”

“Yes. You are correct on that,” Andrew answered, nodding his head respectfully. Drain let out an interested “hmph”. He took a step forward.

“I’m sure you’re aware of my power,” Drain warned him. There was something off about his voice, “Surrender. I will not harm you.”

“Why now?” Andrew asked, “Of all times? You’ve chosen the violent path for everybody else. What makes me different? Why spare me?”

“Because,” Drain explained, looking at him. There was something in his eyes. A feeling of sadness? Guilt? Or perhaps rage? Andrew could not tell.

Andrew did not know this, but Drain was experiencing good memories. Were they real? Fabricated? Drain did not know. It had been a very long time since he felt any sort of desire besides conquest and power. But he wanted this feeling of bliss forever.

“When I conquer this Timeline,” Drain coughed, “I would like to have a light. Peace of mind. You truly are something special, do you know that? You are perhaps the only merciful human I’ve met.”

Andrew chuckled. He thought about what the bat did to Neddy, Aurora, and Arianna. The lengths he went through just to get power. Andrew clenched his fist. What kind of monster deserved whatever Andrew could have given him?

“I would never surrender to you,” Andrew glared, “You’re just pure evil. You take and take, and give nothing. You have no love, nor compassion, or anything that is good. You are darkness incarnate. And for that, I shall never show mercy to you. I will kill you, here and now.”

Drain looked down, almost in disappointment.

“I suppose you have proven me wrong.”

Drain looked up.

Andrew charged an arrow made of light onto his bow, while Drain flapped up into the skies, showering black mist down onto the crumbling City. Andrew’s light shot out of his body, warping and pushing back onto the darkness. Drain let out a screech, and a Dragon’s head popped from the building lines, along with the rest of Drain’s Nights. Both Drain and Andrew’s Knights charged at each other, battle cries ringing out throughout the air of the Omega Timeline.

Their final battle between good and evil had just begun.