Heroes Uprising Part 6

As Scott finished up his heroic speech and asked for help, a girl slowly lowered herself upside down from the ceiling.    Suspended by what seemed like a spider web much akin to Spiderman, as she descended lower her hair started to cover Scott's face.     Reaching down with a free arm the women tapped Scott on the top of head and asked "can I go?"     As the lady waited for a reply her web started to tear at it's center, noticing this Katy quickly stood up and created a slide made of ice that spawned under the girl and lead to the floor at a slight grade.     The web broke surprising the girl, luckily because of Katy's actions her fall would be no more then a few inches.     The girl slid down the ice slide shouting "wheeeee!!!" like a child before gently sliding onto the floor.    Now with her hair not covering any faces, everybody could clearly see it was Tiffany.  

Katy dissolved the ice slide with a slight sigh.   "Yama, maybe you didn't need to bring literally everyone here."  Turning her attention to Scott.   "Scott, Tiffany has power but has no idea how to use it.   If you want help, then I'll come with you."   She laid a hand on Filipe's shoulder and spoke to him.   "I know how much you love freezing demons, but let me have this one.    It's about time I prove I'm more then a supporting role."    Katy was easily one of the second tier rank in SXM, right under main leaders and team captains.    But there was certainly nothing stopping her from moving into that top tier fold.    Filipe nodded, he'd defend the Earth while Katy helped Scott in hell, if Scott accepted her of course.

Everyone listened intently as Scott explained his situation, nearly everyone. Riku had been enjoying his breakfast and for the most part tuning Scotts explanation out, but once he started explaining about lord Satan and hell, he lost his appetite and started yawning rather loudly and rolling his eyes.

Emmet, Aaron, and Yama, as the respective leaders of their team, conversed telepathically amongst themselves before Yama spoke to Scott " I've been hearing your name a lot of late, in the wake of Fusions death and the impact it, having someone as dedicated to doing the right thing as you are, it's refreshing. The Shadow X-men, once upon a time we were the best when it came to being hero's, but in the last few years we've fallen short due to internal conflict "

He held up a hand, stoping Felipe before he could protest " But I think it's time that the world remembered that Shadow X-men can be hero's and shall strive to be. You have our assistance, however we can " several the SXM nodded in agreement.

" Making big declarations like that isnt really my thing " Aaron said with a shrug " But Christopher has been singing your praises since your friend saved his " baby " the Avengers are ready to assemble wherever you need us " he tipped his glass in Scotts direction. Minerva nodded vigorously as well, it was horrible that something like this was happening to Scotts home, just yesterday he was helping them to defend their world, surely they could help him defend his.

" I'm more for making big declarations, but I shall keep it short. The code:breakers are ready to unleashe their ferocity " Emmet said, his hands folded in front of him. He paused and closed his eyes, but quickly continued " we should decide who will accompany you on your journey into hell, you'll find that many of us here are familiar with traversing hell "

Riku leaned back as far in his chair as possible, more then making it clear he had no interest in assisting. He was about to open his mouth and make it clear vocally, when Minerva suddenly raised her hand.

" I'd like to volunteer to accompany you to face Satan. I dont know how much help i'll really be, but i'll support you however I can "

Riku's mouth jammed shut, he appeared to be raised his hand, be quickly putting it down.He leaned over Adrian towards Ashe whispered in his ear. After a moment, Ashe nodded and raised his hand " I'll join as well, I think my abilities will be ideal for this "

" I'll go too " said Noah " I have a lot of experience with slaughtering demons and I.....need to settle something " he didnt say what exactly he needed to settle, but his determination was apparent.

"I have a lot of experience fighting in hell as well." Sandra commented. Tesla scoffed at the Phoenix comment. "Oh please, Sandra you'll bend quicker then a coke head trying to refuse cocaine. Lets face it, your track record with demons, well I'm pretty sure you've lost more then you've won. All they have to do is tell you something regarding one of your children or lovers, and you'll be wrapped around their pinky finger."

"Bitch" Sandra muttered, she didn't appreciate Tesla making her look like a fool. Tesla slightly got wind of it and asked "do you care to repeat that?" Sandra responded more clearly "What you want me to say it again, alright I called you a bitch. Got a problem with that?" Tesla stood up from her seat "maybe I do." Sandra stood up as well. "Wait, are you seriously thinking of fighting me? Come on, I'd destroy you without even a effort."

"ENOUGH" a demanding voice bellowed from the back of the room as Tanya and Kano walk into view. Tanya spoke up having enough of this bickering. "There is a demon invasion going on, Scott is here to get our help and you two are at each others throats before we even leave the planning room? Sandra, sit your ass down and shut up before I make you. And don't think I can't, I know what you can do but you've also seen what I can do. Tesla, the same applies to you."

Tesla wasn't afraid to cut through the bullshit and call things as she seen it, however their was times that honesty and her attitude with how she delivered said honesty would land her in hot water, case in point the events that just occurred. Tesla backed down easily enough not wanting to fight any Asgardian god or goddess. Tanya and Sandra however did share a eye to for brief moment, Sandra having not forgotten things Tanya had said about her in the past either. Ultimately restraint and more important matters won out, and Sandra backed down as well taking her seat, not happy about it but she knew personal bickering could wait for later."

With that situation defused, Tanya spoke to Scott. "Please excuse this shameful display of unprofessional behavior from these two. Tesla can get quite opinionated and I imagine Sandra is still rather high strung, given everything she's been though lately." Tesla had ties to the Avenger's who became aware of Sandra's hardships through Cassandra. "Now Scott, I believe you was in the process of picking a team to accompany you into hell. If you'd kinda proceed."

Tie covered her mouth, barely stifling back laughter as Scott explained the situation to them. The utter lack of real concern on her face was either due to experience or arrogance, but she simply couldn't get over Scott's rather earnest nature. Add that to his small little lecture on heaven and hell to the audience made it near impossible for her to even appear to be respectful. Earrings was more than happy to be here after losing a bet with his sister and being forced to hear LA's administrative council complain about the werewolf population. While boring he didn't mind Scott or rather Valor. Being known as one of the first beings in existence with "sticky fingers" he didn't mind the thought of taking Valor as a part of his own treasury.

"I don't believe we've met before now. You may address me as Tie...Hero.""

"and I'm Earrings."

"We're Angels tasked with guarding this world which means not yours, but you were certainly amusing. I will finish the battle your allies couldn't. Of course only in defense of this world. Brother?"

Earrings shrugged "I'm actually trying to take my job as a General of Heaven seriously. However Scott, Valor if you two fail don't worry we'll deal with it. This wouldn't be the first time demons invaded."

Glory was here and listened and was close to joining the excursion into hell. Even the spirits that lived within her were eager for battle, but she wondered how such a chaotic dimension could effect them. "It would be nice to fight by your sides again but I will stay here with the others. I have a feeling trying to keep people from succumbing to a demon army might be a little difficult."

As Scott let his words sink in to the multitude of heroes standing before him, he was surprised to find his face covered in a woman's hair. He felt a tap on his head and looked up to see who it was, but the hair was so thick that this was a losing proposition. Reaching up with his hands, he drew the hair aside like a curtain, only to discover that even after seeing this woman's face, he still didn't know who this was. Her innocent question was kind of charming, but before he could answer, the Spider-Man style web that she was suspending herself on broke, forcing him to let go of her hair. He watched as she landed on a slide of ice and slid away to relative safety. Katy, one of the remaining SXM, had saved this woman from a hard fall and explained that she was not able to use her power effectively.

"Ah, I see. In that case, it is probably too dangerous for her to go with me into Hell. Her power will be allocated elsewhere."
Katy was the second to volunteer to accompany him, and he weighed that proposition carefully. She was a second-tier member of the SXM, certainly capable of holding her own, and her water/ice powers had the potential to be very useful.
"I accept your proposal, Katy, and welcome you to my team."

Scott turned as Yamairo, the leader of the Shadow X-Men, began speaking to him. This man more than any other within this dimension was of a mind and heart like Scott himself, and he smiled at the kind words of so distinguished a leader and warrior.
"Your kind words are much appreciated, Yamairo. Master Chiang and Master Arnan filled me in on some of the history of this dimension, and I have learned how effective and powerful the SXM were when Milo and Sandra could still be counted amongst your ranks. This world needed a hero that would put the people first, and I needed a world filled with grey to help me grow in wisdom and compassion. My love for this dimension that took me in and gave me an extended family of allies is why I stand here today ready to fight and give my life for all of you."

Scott turned to Aaron and chuckled a little sheepishly.
"I'm glad that Master Chiang was there to help Christopher when he needed it, and myself, as well. I shouldn't have let his baby be put in danger like that. The Avengers were the first to have my back when I came to this dimension, and so I knew that I could count on you to be here when Nirvana needed it."
He turned to Emmett, a man who had become sort of fatherly with him, and whose organization contained Sandra, who had become sort of motherly with him. This organization that was made up of those who fit in nowhere else had perhaps the least reason to fight for others, but that was what made what they did all the more noble and respectable.

"I knew that your organization could be counted on for this, since some of your members are demonic themselves. Encountering demons and learning that not all of them are a threat to mankind has not been easy for me, but I'm working on it."
He looked at Riku, seeing with non-judgmental eyes for the first time a person as well as a demon, and thought that Minerva and Tanya had been right all along back at Emmett's house after Godric's defeat. He was surprised when Minerva volunteered to come with him, and a warm, loving smile crossed his face. Scott approached Minerva and gently took her hands in his.
"Your support makes my heart soar."

Scott was tempted to kiss Minerva in front of everyone just then, no longer feeling bound by gentlemanly dating rules in light of such an emergency, but his attention was suddenly gotten by two of the Code:Breakers volunteering for the job. The two were Ashe and Noah, both of whom had abilities rooted in exorcism and demon killing. These two had lots of experience in dealing with demons, and turning them down would have been a silly thing to do.
"Ashe and Noah, I accept you onto the team. I fear to detract from our other fronts by recruiting more heroes, so we will stop the recruiting here. The rest of you will defend this dimension or fight for Nirvana as you see fit."

Scott had noted Noah's determination, and knew that this would also be an asset in his favor. He invited Katy, Ashe, and Noah to join him at the front, shaking hands with them and making a bit of small talk to solidify a friendly alliance. With members from the CB's, the Avengers, and the SXM within his squad, he was truly getting a representation of the major groups within this dimension. However, the positive vibes started to chill a bit when Tesla and Sandra started arguing.
Oh shit.
Scott had seen frightening displays of Sandra's power through the recordings of history within the realm of Solaris, and he knew all too well that Tesla was way out of her league and that he could not protect her if this situation escalated.

"Sandra, Tesla, wait..."
Thankfully, before the situation could escalate any further, Tanya stepped in and reminded them that they had bigger problems than past grievances. Once things were reasonably calm again, Scott bowed slightly to the King and Queen of Asgard.
"I am honored that the monarchs of Asgard have heard my summons and come in person. The two of you would be much appreciated wherever you choose to fight."

Scott turned to address all of the heroes.
"Those that will accompany me into Hell will be Minerva Mercury of the Avengers, Katy of the Shadow X-Men, and Noah and Ashe from the Code:Breakers. The rest of you are free to choose whether to fight in this dimension or in Nirvana."
The next figures that he met were the angels Tie and Earrings, who were slightly different from the Angels he had met in Heaven years ago. He nodded as they explained what they would do, and heard nothing that he disagreed with.

"Nice to meet you, Tie. You can call me Crusader if Scott is too informal."
He was equally genial with Earrings.
"Nirvana is not my home world, but it is the home of one of my Masters who is like a father to me. I appreciate you keeping demons away from it."
He bowed to them.

"I am also grateful that Angels of Christianity would put aside religious conflict and fight in defense of the Buddhist afterlife. My own world is mired in cosmological red tape, but yours is much more lenient, so I appreciate it."
Tie and Earrings would soon be able to sense that Scott was no ordinary mortal, but a cosmic force similar to Sandra and Emmett. Bound to the Creator by an oath and a need to become the Destroyer that balanced the cosmic scales, Scott was the only being in his dimension that could not be permanently destroyed. Were he to die, his body would disappear and his soul would travel to Heaven, where his body would be fixed within milliseconds and he would be sent right back to where he fell in order to resume his fight, sort of a drive-thru Reincarnation.

"Thank you, Earrings. I will accomplish my mission, and I trust you will do the same."
He turned to Glory and smiled, having found great kinship with Emmett's daughter.
"I would have loved to have you at my side, Glory, but your place is perhaps better outside of Hell. Whether ministering to the humans or slaughtering demons, I know you will find your niche."
He looked over at Kiya, who was in a transition between teams right now.

"I haven't forgotten you, my friend. Your foes won't know what hit them."
He laughed as he thought of his first meeting with Kiya, when he first entered this dimension and was suspected to be a danger because of past visitors to the realm. Kiya had been a hardass at first, understandably, but the two had become friends and he respected her as one that had fought at his side against Godric. Turning to see Marcus looking a bit out of place in his press conference suit, he chuckled and approached him, shaking his hand when they were close enough.
"Sorry to pull you away from your press conference, but as a hero of this dimension, you deserved to be here, as well."

"I have not forgotten my promise to help the Hero Association, and will be sure to endorse your organization on television once I return from Hell. The people of this dimension have been welcoming and kind, and I'm sure that the word of a well-respected superhero with no blemishes on his record will be very beneficial to your budding organization."
His eyes showed some concern.
"Be careful out there, Marcus. I want us both in good shape at the end of this war."
He gently bowed to excuse himself and approached the table where Riku was sitting. Before he left, he wanted to show how he had changed his opinion on the demon who was training his love interest.

"Riku, I'm not going to lie to you. I despised demons before I came to this dimension and didn't want Minerva training with you. But your organization has shown me that being closed-minded about anything can stunt our growth, and so I want you to know that as someone else who cares about Minerva, I trust you to take care of her as she grows in power. Our personalities may be too different for us to be friends, but we can at least be cordial allies."
Scott bowed slightly to Riku and then left the table. He met up with Minerva and the rest after they had talked with others, as well.

"The first stop that we need to make is back to Earth 1 to let the other heroes of my dimension in on what's going on. We'll then go to Solaris in his realm of the same name and he'll open the path to Fire Hell, the first of nine interconnected realms of Hell, or at least, that's what Hell is in my dimension. I have learned that every realm has alternate versions, even the Afterlife realms."
Scott and his party left Avengers HQ and moved as one to the open portal that connected Scott's Earth to Minerva's Earth.
"This portal was made by Solaris and Chiang to allow me to come here, and now I must use it once more. Are we all ready to step through it?"

Katy was grateful Scott had given her this chance over one of the higher ups of the SXM.    She had certainly been on front lines many times before, but usually as a follower be it under Yamairo's command, Filipe's command, Troy's command (before he turned on SXM), or even Emmet's command.     Now she was only one of 4, chosen above all else to go into the depths of hell, and not even her hell, but a hell unknown to her.     Accomplishing this mission could help push Katy's reputation into that top tier frame among her piers.   Of course failure (if she even where to make it back) would solidify Katy in the position of being no more then just a supporting player.     But Katy was confident that this was the big break she'd waited so many years for, and was fully confident in her ability to succeed and protect those that needed her.      Scott asked if they where ready to through the portal, Katy confirmed that she was.  "Yes, I'm ready when you are."

Before they left, Noah had a brief conversation with Emmet where he asked if the immortal could get some items for him, Emmet agreed and Noah found himself wearing his old executioner uniform and large bandaged object strapped to his back " Thank you "

Emmet nodded and hugged him and Ashe " Good luck to the both of you "

Riku just gave a half nod to Scoot and walked over to Minerva " Yo Miriam, if your going to hell then I guess I have to make sure you dont get swallowed up upon entering. It wouldnt look good for me " he held out a ring to her " Here, it has my demonic signature to it. See Mariah, your a little too pure and that kind of thing attracts demons, this way you wont look as appealing to them "

Minerva took the ring and put it on " Thank you Mr.Drummond-

" I'm not finished Mirajane, also take this backpack " he waved his hand and a large bag was strapped to her back, almost knocking her over " Inside you'll find various potions and stuff from my private stache, stuff that'll probably come in handy and whatnot, ok that it's........don't fuck up and you'll be live. Honestly this isnt that big of a deal, that guys just a noob when it comes to hell invasions "

Minerva couldnt believe that Riku was giving her all of this stuff to help, she felt like hugging him, but didnt think he'd go for that, so she settled for shaking his hands " Thank you sense! We've only had one session of training, but I know that I have much to learn from you. I promise not to dishonor you! " she headed after Scott while Riku was rooted to the ground.

" I'll make sure she survives " Ashe said as he passed with Noah and Followed the rest.

Once they were gone, Riku composed himself " Ok, I hope his world burns to the ground, yeah yeah not being judgemental or crap. I still hope it burns! "

Tanesha rolled her eyes " Bitch, you stay being petty " she reached over and hugged him, seeing through the bravado " But, it's one of the reason were such great friends "

Riku grinned " We still need to get those " petty and proud " T-shirts "

" Oooh definetly, so how are we doing this? "

Emmet considered that for a moment " We have two grand stages before us, our own earth and Nirvana. We need to make sure each has adequate protection. I plan to go to Nirvana to give them some phoenix back-up. Sandra, do the same here. Kaiser, Glory, Elspeth, and William, wont you accompany me? "

The all agreed and he smiled, they were all very much capable of taking care of themselves. But a mother worried and after what happened yesterday, he wanted them close to him.

" I think i'll accompany you, Emmet " Yama had joined them " Sounds like Nirvana could use all the help it can get and our earth in truth is used to this kind of occurance. Amber just messaged me that she's getting to join as well "

" I'll staying close to home, but Galy is down to go with you " said Felipe

One by one people began picking where they would be battling.

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Minerva was nervous, but she knew she could do this " I'm ready, Scott "

Noah and Ashe nodded.

Jim and Justin from the SXM team voted to help defend Earth. "I'm going to help mother" Abby said, also choosing Earth. Collin would also choose Abby's side which meant Earth. Tanya came up to Emmet. "Emmet allow me to accompany on this quest. Kano will remain on Earth and aid your Phoenix counterpart." The way Tanya announced this got Sandra's attention. "Hmm what's wrong queen goddess, afraid Kano won't love you anymore if he went with Emmet instead of you?"

Tanya shrugged off the comment amusingly. "I admit Emmet has his ways around men, but no I don't fear Kano leaving me for him. We've survived worse then Emmet's charm. Besides if that happened, it would make me mad. And you wouldn't like me when I'm mad." Sandra raised a eyebrow "wait was that a Hulk quote?" Tanya smiled "Maybe, I don't watch many movies these days so it's had to tell. Honestly I just want to see Nirvana and I think my ability with cloning could help greatly bolster our roster over on that front. From Scott's description, they need as much help as possible."

"I'll go as well" Tesla spoke up to say after Tanya had finished talking. She just had a feeling that on Emmet's team was where she wanted to be. Sandra was fine with Tesla going with Emmet, seeing tempers had flared just shortly ago keeping the two apart for the time being was probably smart anyway.

Sandra still had a few remaining girls. "So Cassandra, Tanesha, and Roberta. Tani and Roberta, would it be wrong of me to assume you two are joining my side of battle? If so, Cass would you join Emmet and give him a extra set of hands?" Cassandra agreed "Sure, I'll make sure Emmet and crew comes back alive." Sandra smiled, that wasn't exactly what she meant as Emmet certainly didn't need protection. But it was good to see Cass was still that confident in herself despite having lost most of her Goblin power.

Marcus for awhile felt coming to this meeting was almost pointless. He wasn't a hero but at least there was a chance for him to see personally the state of the world's heroes at the moment. It didn't take long however for him to regret coming completely. As Scott approached and addressed him as a "Hero of this dimension"

"W-What are you talking about? I just donate to charity and try to keep kids in school in my spare time. Nothing else at all, but thank you."

As Tanya and Sandra continued  there exchange even Earrings was openly chuckling at the display. "Oh no don't stop yet. I rarely hear this quality of sass from two esteemed god like women."

Tie looked over to him feigning curiosity."Where would you typically hear this?"

"Young, loud and occasionally pregnant girls. You should check out World Star Hip Hop."

"Hmm maybe." Tie looked around the room and laid eyes on Riku. "Ah wonderful I forgot the half...mostly abomination was here. How would you rate this banter on a scale of Screaming Troglodyte to Bad Bitch?"

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"What are you doing?"

Glory could hear the familiar and annoying voice of her father. She looked at him and felt him inside his head. Between them telepathy wasn't necessary only their divine connection allowed this form of communication.

"Going with my mother to Nirvana? What do you want?"

"I didn't know you could ever be afraid and of demons no less."

"I am not afraid of demons. I just...I just don't want to harm them. That's it." she almost sneered. The fact he knew about her concern was frustrating. She actually made him worry.

"HA! Is that all? Don't you remember what those cursed souls are? They're barely unlike demons and you tamed them. You're just as likely to kill demons as you are to tame them and unfortunately you're strangely good at the latter. Don't go to hell because I am positive you will come back with the baggage of a thousand angry Hell spawn. However, don't be stupid and sell yourself short Sukoshi Tora."

Glory smiled as she felt the souls within her reluctantly agree with her father at least partly. They all shouted to go fight, but because they knew she was strong. "Whatever and its been awhile since I've heard that nickname. Don't call me that again."

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"Yeah lets go. I need to get some anti demon equipment ready before we go." Roberta felt this was far too routine for her by now. Get two maybe three weeks of rest then get back into a fight for the fate of the world. Felt like saving the planet was a part time job mixed in with a few unnecessary casualties. She didn't feel any amount of excitement and wondered if that creature from before was having some effect.

Riku jumped " Oh! I forgot you were here, you mean so little me that I thought you were a loud mouthed chair " He leaned back in his seat and rubbed his chin " Well if I have to be honest, as I always am. I like hearing white girls argue over their starbucks with an extra shot of pumpkin spice as much as the next person, but this is getting sad. Girls girls, your both pretty. But I mean Emmets right there, he's outshining everyone, accept it. More to the point, do you not know how to be shady and savage? "

He pointed at Sandra " Calling out a marriage is always good, but lacked any passive agression or sarcasm to it. Try this " he materialized a cup of tea " Tanya, I applaude you for not letting your husband head out, lord knows he likes pounding the hammer " takes a long, noisy sip " This tea is quite exquisite today. Tani, anything to add? "

Tanesha was laughing behind her hand, quickly composed herself " Yeah, I think I can, Tanya, the clapback is everything, you cant go half-assed, you gotta let a bitch know. That means not dropping tired ass quotes, it dont help that there's two hulks present "

Alex rolled his eyes and Riya folded her arms across her chest " Preach sista preach! "

Tanesha nodded " When in doubt, go for a back handed compliment " Thanks girl, your input means so much to me, I know your speaking from experience, across the field where its greener and sometimes not *snaps, the snaps important "

Kano rubbed his chin " Wouldnt a Z formation snap be better though, it maximises the pettyness "

Everyone starred at him and he shrugged " My human family is black "

Suddenly everyone was on the floor laughing. The tension lessened a bit, Riku had to use the table for support to get back on his feet " Pat that weave at breakneck speed! " he turned towards Marcus, having just noticed him, due to how much he stood out " Bruc- marcus Wayne, I've heard a lot of things about you and i've made up a bunch as headcannon "

Tanesha hugged Sandra " I'll be fighting with my girls " she kissed her on the cheek " I know you guys have beef, were just trying to lighten the mood and be petty "

Jericho coughed " Yes, I think i'll stay on earth, as I dont believe my brand of magic would be appropriate for nirvana "

Emmet finished chuckling as he nodded " I think each side has a sizeable force protecting it, we should be good "

" Provided our forces dont kill each other in process " Aaron said innocently behind his martini, he was already setting aside which armors he would employ as Natsu and Laxus decided to check out Nirvana and Erza would be with him.

Emmet shrugged nonchalantly " A little antagonism can be a good thing, it fosters a certain bond " he he faced Sandra and Tanya, his piercing gaze demanding attention without saying anything " You two have much history together, at one point you were friends, trusted and respected each other. I dont believe those feelings are entirely gone, merely waned down over the years due to events and you both changing as people. You are both strong and beautiful women who have saved the world on more then one occasion, less beautiful, talented, and stylish then I am, and have much compassion. Maybe in time you can return to that same friendship or at the very least a mutual respect, tolerance and civility that mask whatever petty and catty comments you elect to throw at one another in the manner that Riku and Tanesha. To quote this generation, dont be basic, be fabulous "

" Its actually be a bad bitch, but what you said is awesome too " Riku pointed out

Tanya was about to respond sarcastically on being lectured about how to be a "bad bitch", but when Kano suddenly chimed in it had even her laughing and the tension was lessened a great deal. Emmet then added in his own thoughts. When Emmet said her was the most beautiful of all of them Tanya couldn't help remarking towards the statement. "Well gosh Emmet, don't go selling yourself short."

Tanya did agree with Emmet's message however. "I do agree however agree that maybe our feud has gone far enough. Perhaps we need to relive our aggression against each other and put this bad blood behind us. Perhaps, we need to prove our respective strengths and earn bad the respect we've lost."

"What are you getting at Tanya?" Sandra asked.

Tanya replied to Sandra's question. "I think, we settle this the way of the warrior. After we deal with these demons and save Scott's world, Sandra I want to go one on one, head to head with you. We settle our dispute once and for all. That is of course if you think you can hang with the Goddess, Phoenix."

Tesla chimed in on this. "Wouldn't beating the shit out of each other make you hate each other even more?"

Tanya thought about that. "It is a risk that could backfire, yes. But it's a risk that could also pay off. Sandra has beef with me because of things I've said, I've basically called her a weak minded failure that don't serve the Phoenix power she's been gifted. But if Sandra was to prove her worth to me, I would then retract my hateful comments toward her. So yes, I say we fight. Take some time to think it over Sandra, and if you think your strong enough to make me chance my mind, you know where I'll be.

But alas, Emmet don't we have a mess we should get to cleaning up? By all means, lead the way."

Sandra thanked Tani for trying to lighten the mood and the kiss, though Tanya's proposal caught her off guard. A formal battle between allies, not to kill each other but just to prove each others worth. Sandra wasn't even sure if she'd even been offered that type of contest before. Sandra had to admit she'd like to get rid of that chip Tanya had on her shoulder ever since she moved to Asgard.

Scott nodded as all of his companions let him know that they were ready to proceed through the portal. As he strode confidently through the portal, what he expected to find was a quiet, cordoned off section of street in downtown Manhattan. What he found instead was almost too shocking to believe. The NYPD had deployed an army of riot cops accompanied by tanks wielding water cannons in order to push back a horde of reporters that were trying to push their way toward the portal. Even more shocking was the incredible amount of superheroes that were hovering in the air and hanging out on nearby rooftops. Scott was so busy trying to comprehend this that he did not notice the billboards around the city were playing footage of his fight against the Grymwar followed by footage of the new superheroes as they arrived over the city skyline.

While Chiang had been seeking help from Scott and his allies, Alan had not been complacent in the threat that Nirvana faced. Before he was the God of Fire, he was Earth's most famous superhero under the handle of Solaris and was also a graduate of the Shadowgreen Institute. It was only natural, then, that he turned to this revered institute for mutants and enhanced humans for help. Superheroes had been banned from public view thanks to an incident from Alan's past, but dire circumstances forced those trapped in the shadows to come to the light. Every student from Shadowgreen and Wintergreen, its sister school for mages in England, totaling over one million superhumans, was here in New York City, in plain view of everyone. It was a monumental occasion that the world news media was struggling to cope with, especially since this was on the heels of Crusader's fight with the Grymwar only a year prior.

Reporters were screaming his name, and Scott knew that their hunger for a story could spark a serious riot, potentially wounding or killing untold amounts of people. He had to put a stop to this right now, and so he began creating a new space-time dimension that surrounded his allies.
"Do not move from where you are," he warned them in a serious tone of voice after surrounding them with the protection.
Scott began expanding his Destructive Aura, which pushed everyone in the immediate area up against the nearest wall if there was one, except for his protected party. Keeping his aura in place, he walked over to the reporters and walked down the entire line.
"Stop this nonsense, it's disgraceful."

The withering commentary from this Earth's most respected hero silenced the media, and once they were sufficiently calm, he released them from the aura. The first to approach him was a young Asian reporter in her twenties from CNN.
"Crusader, where have you been these past few weeks? And what are your thoughts on the influx of new superheroes in the greater New York area?"
"I'm afraid there's no time for questions right now. When I return, I will hold a press conference explaining everything to the world."

The media knew better than to press him on this point, and watched as he dispelled the protection around his party. The five heroes then began moving down the street toward center Manhattan, an area that Scott knew like the back of his hand, since he both lived and worked in the area. Traffic was nowhere to be seen thanks to the chaos, but the rumble of wheels could be heard as a black military-grade Humvee came into view.
"Well, they got here quickly," Scott said with a smile.
The Humvee stopped in front of them and a young man with blonde hair in military Kevlar came shooting out of the hatch by the mounted gun emplacement.
"Well, you took your sweet time coming home," he said with a grin as he came down the hood of the vehicle and onto the roadway.

"What, you guys can't handle a few weeks without me, Nick?"
The two knuckle-bumped and then shared a brief hug, a testament to the fact that they were best friends. To see this display, one would have never guessed that they were once bitter rivals that had hated each other. Scott gestured to his party when the hug broke.
"These are heroes from the most prestigious organizations on the other Earth. The sorceress is Minerva Mercury from the Avengers, the hydromancer is Katy from the Shadow X-Men, and the two serious-looking men decked out in battle regalia are Ashe and Noah from the Code:Breakers."

Nick nodded and then shook hands with each of them.
"I'm Nick, codenamed Shell-Shock, of the Shadow Force, Shadowgreen's premiere defense force that aids in the protection of the Earth."
The front doors on the Humvee opened and three other people in black Kevlar suits stepped out. The one on the driver's side was very tall, at least 6'5", and had a shaved head with a body like a professional weightlifter.
"I'm Richard, codenamed Rocky, Field Commander of the Shadow Force and Nick's older brother."
The other young man on the passenger side was of medium height, athletic build, and had brown hair in a kind of 'emo' style, where part of it was swept to the side and hung in his eyes.

"I'm Michael, codenamed Sandstorm, the man who handles the technological side of Shadow Force operations."
Popping out beside Rocky was a young woman no older than ten with brightly-colored dyed pink hair.
"Uncle Scott!" she cried out and began rushing to him.
"Julie!" he said with a smile as he knelt down and his helmet dissolved.
He wrapped his arms around her in a big hug, and was then surprised when she slapped him across the right cheek.
"You didn't tell me you were going anywhere," she said with a pouty look on her face.

Scott chuckled and then looked back to her with his same warm smile.
"Well, it was a bit of a last-minute decision on my part."
He lifted Julie up and held her with one arm while he stood and turned to his party.
"This is Julie, codenamed Siren, the psychic of the Shadow Force. She is the only non-graduate of Shadowgreen to be part of Shadow Force, and this is due to the fact that her psychic powers are incredibly powerful and have the potential to become even more so. She's actually still a New Blood, a first year student at Shadowgreen."

Scott set Julie down and watched as Rocky and Michael came to join them.
"Well, you came home just in time to the party, Crusader," Rocky said as the two bumped knuckles.
"Heroes out in the open like this. I never thought I'd see the day..."
"It was only a matter of time once you were discovered while defeating the Grymwar, but the emergency threatening both Earth and Nirvana has forced the barrier down much sooner than anyone expected. The entire student bodies of both Shadowgreen and Wintergreen are here in the city, with Madame Shadow and Master Permafrost staying at the Omni Hotel not far from here."

Scott looked up and around, his entire vision filled with superheroes. All of them in unison began chanting his codename, showing their respect for the man who had the courage and strength of character to fight in the open no matter the consequences.
"Crusader! Crusader! Crusader!"
Scott acknowledged everyone by shoving his fist into the air, feeling incredibly honored and blessed by their respect and adulation.
"For Nirvana!" he shouted, and received the same words in a million different voices in return.

After letting the moment linger, he lowered his arm and brought everyone in for a brief, but serious meeting.
"So, how are the teams being deployed, Rocky?"
"The New Bloods of both Shadowgreen and Wintergreen will stay here on Earth to defend it from demon threats, while the Median students will join with Solaris to defend other dimensions of Earth not currently protected in force. As the God of Fire, he cannot directly fight with our foes outside of his own dimension, but he can create Fire Paths for others to use. The Superior students of both schools will fight on the battlefield of Nirvana."
"Sounds like a solid plan."

Scott was just about to adjourn the meeting when a portal opened up behind them, one that rippled like water after a stone had been tossed into it. A moment later, Empress Enjela and a dozen men with Voltari arm armor on one arm came strolling through.
"Kasha has come to aid us," Scott said with a smile.
Scott approached Enjela and got down on one knee while bowing his head.
"Empress," he said with a tone of utmost respect and love.
"Rise, Knight of Valor," she said with a giggle, knowing it was pointless by now to ask him to stop doing this.

Scott rose and the two shared a loving hug. Enjela had been like a mother to him since he was a young teenager that had first received Valor, and without her loving and compassionate care, he might not have become the man that he was.
"What brings you and the Martyrs to Earth?"
The Martyrs were called by this name because their decision to take a Voltari into their bodies meant certain death for both of them. The physiology of a Kashan body could not take on a Voltari Soul, and this led to the death of the Kashan after one year due to cancer-like symptoms. The Voltari Soul paid an even higher price, as the soul inside of the body simply ceased to exist due to the damaged fluctuations of the Soul Energy.

The Martyrs were willing to pay this price in order to follow in the footsteps of the Kashaxi, who was the former Kashan Emperor, Enjela's husband. He had refused to let an untested procedure be done on his people, and offered himself up as the first test subject in the Voltari Armor Weapons System (VAWS) experiment. Determined to defend their planet and allies no matter the cost, the Martyrs embodied the spirit of sacrifice immortalized by the Kashaxi, and had mutual respect with their other greatest hero, the man who had fought to defend their way of life, Crusader.
"We have come to help our allies in their time of need, just as you helped us in our time of need."
"But the Grymwar...Jukei..."
Enjela gently put up a hand to silence him.

"The Grymwar have not made their move, and I do not fear that they will while we are gone. I will stay here on Earth to tend to the warriors that will be fighting here. Some of these New Bloods have never been in combat before, and will need the kind of emotional support I can offer. The Martyrs will go to Nirvana and fight the demons directly."
Scott looked with sadness over to these Kashan men, knowing that death was inevitable for them but not wishing to see them perish so soon.
"If they are to fight, allow me to augment their abilities."

Scott strode over to them and formed a sphere of time-space in his hands before covering all of them in order to protect the Earth from their destructive power.
"Martyrs, flare up!"
All twelve formed their Destructive Auras, which glowed in different colors based on the aura signatures of both themselves and their Voltari Souls. Scott's own golden white aura enveloped theirs and he began to focus his power to greater and greater heights, so much so that the intense power could be felt in shock-waves by all around them.
"Remember this, Martyrs, there are no limits on this power except the limits of your mind, heart, and your soul! Bond with your Voltari and push on!"

There was great screaming and shouting as the auras intensified even further. After awhile, Scott could feel their power weakening and he knew that they needed to press on.
"Come on, Martyrs! Think about everything you know and love and would be willing to give your lives for! Feel that power in your heart and soul and seize it with both hands! SHINE BRIGHTER!!!!"

The screaming was deafening and the power being exerted was now more than enough to reduce half of the country to a disintegrated ruin. However, the motivation had worked wonders. All twelve of the Voltari now had two Arms of Valor, meaning that they had now doubled their ability to attack.
"All right, Martyrs, power down!"
The Destructive Auras vanished and they collapsed, while Scott's aura vanished and he took a deep breath.
"Rest now, my friends, and channel that same passion into the battle."

Scott turned and shook hands with each of the Shadow Force.
"I'm afraid my party and I must be going now. Tell Madame Shadow and Master Permafrost that I appreciate everything that they've done for me."
Scott moved with the party down the street, pointing out his business, Valor Investigations, where he worked as a Private Investigator.
"I don't even want to know what my caseload is going to be when I get back," he chuckled.
When they reached the end of the street, a Fire Gate opened and they proceeded through into the realm of Solaris.

The realm of Solaris was a beautiful, serene place with green grass everywhere and perfect white buildings forming the palace structure where Solaris himself lived. The God of Fire was waiting for them in his true form, with his head aflame and flame decals all over his blue jeans and black vest. Alan Arnan had once defended Earth as the hero Solaris, and had earned his current position by defending Earth from a demon uprising. He had trained Scott in all schools of the martial arts while Chiang had taught him weapons and spirituality. Enjela was Scott's spiritual mother, while Alan and Chiang were Scott's spiritual fathers. For this reason, there was yet another hug between Scott and Alan, two men of similar spirits who had known each other for years.

"Master Alan, I introduce you to Minerva Mercury of the Avengers, Katy of the Shadow X-Men, and Ashe and Noah of the Code:Breakers."
This was a courtesy to his party more than anything, since as the God of Fire, Alan already knew literally everything about these four.
"Alan Arnan," he replied as he shook each of their hands, preferring to stay informal under these circumstances.
He looked at Scott and then at Minerva.
"So, this is the young lady that stole your heart, eh?"
Scott nodded without embarrassment, anticipating that he would say something about their relationship.

"Yes, Master Alan. I care very deeply for her."
"Very good, then," he said, turning on his heels and leading them toward his palace.
It was not a long walk, and they soon reached the Room of the Infernal Fire, which was a gateway to Hell.
"The five of you will descend into Hell and ascend back to Solaris from here. I wish all of you the best, since all of our worlds are counting on you."

When Scott introduced Julie and the potential power she had, she considered asking if Scott would be interested in bringing her to she Sandra or James, as they may be able to help guide Julie towards finding that potential. However she quickly put the thought out of her mind, the kid was still to young and to much power at that age could be a dangerous thing. Maybe when Julie got to be a few older then it may be a good idea.

Sharing handshakes with the rest of Scott's friends, her own rather firm handshake made it known that looks was deceiving. Katy wasn't any fragile girl that was helpless without her powers, she had some level of combat and martial arts experience to her own right well, even if she didn't necessarily look it.

Following Scott as he lead them every closer to their destination, Katy took in the sights and differences between this world and her own. Her own world was starting to earn back peoples trust, people like Emmet was helping greatly on that front. But it was nothing compared to the upmost respect heroes got in this world. It reminded Katy much of SXM during their heyday, prior to all the wars and humanity turning against heroes out of fear. Maybe someday her world would get back to being like this.

It was a pleasure meeting Alan considering the last fire person that Katy, this was was the direct opposite, he kinda represented what Katy hoped she could mold Troy into, a true hero. For a few years things was looking good, Katy even ended up falling for Troy. But alas his old ways never did fully disappear and things ended horribly. Alan lead them to their destination and before them stood the gateway to hell. Katy walked up to Scott. "Well Crusader it seems this is it. Are you ready for this?" she asked confidently, confirming to Scott that Katy herself was ready to go on his call.

Minerva was in awe at the reception Scott received, from the media and from his own people. She looked this way and that, trying to take in everything at once, the people of shadowgreen all looked very impressive and seemed so close to Scott. She smiled as she saw Scott embrace the Empress, she could feel the love and respect they shared. Noah and Ashe hung back a little from the others.

Noah felt a pang of familiarity, however slightly, from his time being in the burial agency, they had raised him and treated him as family. He severely doubted this shadowgreen functioned in the same manner, though they fought demons, it probably stopped there. He clenched his fist, part of the reason he'd elected to come along ia because of his past. When hell and earth had merged together, he'd been rendered immobile by his past sins, now he was stepping into hell and he was going to prove to himself that he wasnt weak in that regard. Did he trully hold regrets? Thats what he intended to discover.

Ashe had no real interest what was going around him, he noted the power of these martyrs, but wasnt overall impressed. His facial expressions remained as blank as ever behind his shades.

Minerva blushed deeply as Alan mentioned her stealing Scotts heart, the same could be said of him, though she didnt voice that. As they entered the room of infernal fire, she steadied her nerves. Looking at the gateway to hell, was really starting to make this real. Was she trully ready to embark on this journey? Yes, she was. She held onto the straps of the backpack Riku had given her, she couldnt dissapoint her sensei, or herself for that matter.

Ashe shivered, they were trully infront of hell now and he could sense the strangeness of it, this wasnt the hell he was used too, but in the end they were all the same and he had some form of familiary there as he did in heaven.

Noah readied himself for the journey, checking his gear one last time.

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Meanwhile in Nirvana, as demons rampaged across the once beautiful landscape, devouring and rending souls as they went. Suddenly they demons came to halt as gateway opened up and music poured out of it.




Emmet strode out of it, dressed impeccably and ready for battle. He strutted right up to the demons and walked through their ranks " Greetings dawlings, I hope you dont mind my presence, but this seemed like such a lovely tea party that I couldnt resist "

The shock had worn off and one of the demons lunged at Emmet, ony for him to whirl around and kick it away, knocking it into the sky and obliterating it. The demons screamed and swarmed him. But Emmet launched himself into the air, wreathed in cosmic energy, He started moving or rather dancing. Swatting demons away left and right and looking fabulous as he did so. Each blow caused the demons to explode, summons smalls orbs of cosmic energy, he commenced to fire them off like bullets.

Yama strode through the portal next, followed by the others " He certainly likes making an entrance " He noted, seeing as Emmet had asked them to wait a moment while he went through first " Alright everyone, lets join this party! "

Kaiser, Elspeth, Glory, and William charged forward to join their mother. Yama unsheathed his swords and started slashing, each strike warping space to slice demons aparts. Aziza did crowd control, in between sniping, directing the souls to a safe spot.

Emmet laughed as he danced amidst the chaos " Oh what a lovely tea part and dancing too! "

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back on earth Jericho was busy working on a series of spells that would help deal with the portals openeing, Amber at his side, doing her own spell casting. Riku, with Adrian and Iko at his side, were tearing through the demon hordes. Eva and Garfield in another location were doing the same. Felipe remarked that he almost felt bad for the demons, given how brutal the code:breakers mode of combat seemed to be, then he shook that off as Anna smacked the back of his head and told him to get into the game.

Sandra was fighting alongside her girls in a trio group, all 3 flowed taking a page from Emmet's book they seemed to almost dance around each other, always covering each others backs at all time as demons tried in a feeble attempt to swarm them. Sandra herself was using psysic blades to slice demons apart, having her attacks infused with Phoenix energy each attack caused the sliced demon to be disintegrated.

After the past few days Sandra was taking great pleasure in this, she had her own disdain for hell and demons, she'd been to hell many more times then any mortal should ever visit it, and she's had numerous blood feuds with demons. She hadn't took joy in the destruction of others in quite a while, a grin was crossing her face that was almost reminiscent of her Dark Phoenix days, though there was no danger of that as there was no evil intent from Sandra. It's just that demons (with a few exceptions) was some of Sandra biggest enemies, second to Shawkun, and it felt so good to be cutting loose on them.

In a hidden location rested a large church. Inside all the pews were filled and people were lined up against the walls. At the front was massive portrait of Milo Ventro, with smaller ones circling it. The crowd waited in absolute silence as a figure strode into view, wearing a long, white cloak. He stood in front of a podium and raised his hands, on signal everyone stood and bowed. He lowered his hood, revealing himself to be a young man in his mid twenties, with long deep red hair that hung down to his neck, in a ponytail.

" Greetings everyone and welcome all, new and old, to the church of fusion. Here we honor our fallen savior, so that his memory shall never fade. Times are dark since Milo Ventro fell and the evil of the world have grown bolder. The so-called heroes, the shadow-xmen, avengers, and this crusader, call themselves protecting us. But they are weak and not up to the task that befits a god such as our fusion "

He paused to let the crowd yell out their agreement, he could feel their emotions, taste their thoughts " Even now, demons are attempting to invade earth, opening portals anywhere and everywhere, were Fusion still alive, none of this would be happenin

Suddenly a portal opened up in the middle of the church and a large bull like demon started to lumber out. People screamed and started to run. But the man in the white robe raised a hand " Fear not, for this beast shall not harm anyone! "

Crimson strings of energy burst out of the mans fingers and pierced through the demons body, over and over again until it dissentigrated. With a snap of his fingers, the portal was sealed " I dishonor my father if I could not protect those that believed in and followed him so devotedly, I Kain Ventro, am here for you! "

The church exploded with applause and cheers, Kain smiled at the as two people in black robes stood behind him.

As demons started to swarm the area in greater numbers Sandra started to elegantly float up into the air, crimson energy swirling around her it formed into a giant Phoenix, Sandra sent the attack forward obliterating waves of demons and destroying the portal in the area in the process. Sandra floated back down to Roberta and Tanesha who'd stopped fighting with all the enemies dead. As they was about to move on the one last surviving demon tried to jump Sandra from behind, Tanesha was about to shout out a warning but Sandra beat her to the punch, quickly turning and catching the demon in her telekintic grip.

The demon struggled fruitlessly to fight free and shouted at Sandra to let him go. "My pleasure" Sandra said before letting the demon free only to teleport and punch him in the face with enough force to send the demon crashing into a wall some number of yards away. Teleporting in front of him with Tani and Roberta in tow Sandra telekineticly grabbed the demon again. "Hey, I let you go." Sandra gathered Phoenix flames and started roasting the demon, but she did not kill it quickly even though this level of demon posed no threat to her and she very well could end this now. No Sandra made sure to burn this demon good and slow, as it slowly died in agonizing pain the same satisfied smirk crossed Sandra's face again and the other girls noticed it.

With Sandra purposely dragging this on Roberta took incentive and put the demon out of it's misery. Sandra almost frowned when Tanesha grabbed her arm exclaiming "OK Sandra, what the hell?" Sandra didn't want to recap her entire history with demons, they'd be here all day. Sandra simply explained she has pent up frustration and hatred for most demons, and that eradicating them gave her a sense of relieve and satisfaction, and she apologized admitting that yes she got carried away.

"Alright well this area is clear now, we better move on" Sandra said after her explanation of her actions moments ago. Sandra teleported herself, Tani and Roberta to the next portal where the fighting would start again.

Scott looked around, seeing everyone's reaction to this open gate to a hostile realm. He could feel the pure evil radiating off of it, and it sent shivers down his spine. Looking over at Katy, he rearmored his head and smiled behind it.
"Yeah, let's go."
Jumping into the portal, he felt a weightless sensation while he was falling. Soon enough, he hit the ground in a crouch, and waited for his three other companions to join him, which they did soon after by landing next to him.

The smell of burnt flesh was everywhere, and flames were burning everything in sight. The ground itself was charred earth, the kind that could grow nothing to sustain life. This was Fire Hell, where the angriest and most aggressive demons and human souls turned into demons battled for supremacy. The presence of intruders was detected immediately, and thousands of howling and screeching demons began flying at them at great speed. Their terrible cries were enough to shake the resolve of even the boldest man, but Scott had no fear. Immediately a dome of Sacred Energy emanated from Scott and surrounded the party, beginning to expand to push them all back and keep their foes at bay.

Scott looked around, taking in all of the foes that beat themselves against the shield with a mad fury.
"These are low-class demons, not worth our time to kill. Fire Hell is full of them and we'll waste time if we kill them."
Scott walked confidently toward the portal that was miles away, crossing this spectral battlefield as if it were a walk in the park.
"Fire Hell has a Corrupted Fire Aura around it that is slowly but surely eating away at my shield. We'd best find the General quickly."

After about thirty more minutes of walking, a strange red laser began a focused and sustained attack on the shield. Scott recognized it immediately, even as others in his party thought they might have found the General.
"That's not the General!" Scott spit venomously, his sudden anger surprising his party.
The red laser pierced the shield and went toward Scott's head, intending to kill him with a shot right between the eyes. Scott tilted his head to the side and let it pass through, piercing another hole in the shield behind them. Immediately afterward, the laser cut a large circle in the shield like a cat burglar, and a large shadowy form stepped out of the shadows and toward the hole.

Lesser demons began racing toward the hole, but a red circular shield surrounding the shadow blocked their way.
"No, you fools," a deep, croaking voice said, "this is my party."
In the light of the shield, the shadowy form was revealed to be the deceased former Grymwar Chieftain, Dulzak. He looked much the same as he had in life, although his body was patched together in places and scarred in others.
"Scott," he said with a sinister laugh, "long time no see."
Scott began literally shaking with rage as all of Dulzak's crimes against humanity passed through his mind.

Dulzak brushed some dust from his body.
"Yes, I can imagine that you'd thought you'd seen the last of me on that mudball you call a planet. What were the last words that you said to me again? Four years has made my mind a little...muddled."
It was clear that Scott's fury brought great delight to Dulzak, and he milked the moment for all it was worth before answering his own proffered question.
"I believe they were, and I quote, 'Die Dulzak, and take your Blood Magic to Hell with you!'."

Dulzak emitted a great belly laugh after finishing this speech.
"Oh, I never get tired of remembering that line. You see, I did die, I did go to Hell, and I did indeed take my Blood Magic here with me."
New symbols belonging to Fire Hell began glowing on his body like white-hot metal.
"I swore an oath to the General who controls Fire Hell, and his Corrupted Fire Aura has made my Blood Magic better than ever."
Dulzak began emanating a black and orange aura, which looked as if he were standing in a raging inferno.

He produced his Rod of the Ancients with both Blood Saint Hearts attached, and it began to glow a combined red, orange, and black.
"Now it's my turn to kill you!" Dulzak shouted as he swung the Rod at Scott's head as if he were going for the game-winning home run.
When the Rod was a centimeter from making contact with Scott's head, the hero simply reached up and grabbed it, stopping it dead in its arc. Dulzak grinned as he did this, expecting the armor to melt away and for Scott to die in agony. To his surprise, however, a full minute passed and nothing happened.
"What the hell is going on?!" Dulzak shouted in frustrated anger.

Scott smiled triumphantly under his helmet.
"You are indeed stronger than you once were, but so am I."
Dulzak looked around as if seeing the aura for the first time.
"A blue aura?! That can't be right, your aura is white and gold!!"
Scott's arm that was holding the staff glowed gold, white, and blue, which utterly and completely erased the Rod of the Ancients.

Dulzak was so flabbergasted that he did not see Scott's other arm start to glow the same colors.
"You should never have challenged me to this battle, Dulzak. If I killed you once, whatever possessed you to think that I couldn't do it again?"
Dulzak began shaking with fear. He was so sure that Corrupted Fire would be the weapon that would destroy Scott, and the thought had never entered his mind that the Scott from four years ago might have become stronger. If Scott was able to destroy his spiritual form, then he would be erased completely from existence.

"Wait, Scott, it's clear that you're stronger than me. Without my Rod, I'm no match for you. Perhaps you'll let me go?"
Scott considered this for a moment, and then powered down his arm.
"Sure, Dulzak. Beat it before I beat you."

Dulzak was gone in a flash and Scott shrugged as he made the aura dome good and solid again.
"Big talkers are usually weak, what can I say?"
He began walking casually again, deciding to get to know his party a bit.
"So, you ladies and gentlemen ever been to Hell before? I'd say this one lives up to all the hype."
He looked around, seeing multiple demons and evil humans 'killing' each other, only for the 'slain' to rise again and continue fighting, as they would for all eternity.

"I've heard details of hell from Sandra but this seems to be different from out Universe." Katy herself hasn't had that much experience with hell but Sandra had been though various forms of it, many different times. Katy had requested visions of some of Sandra's experiences to help her understand, and when she finally got the Phoenix to relent, she had been granted some terrible sights for sure. Still no matter how realistic a second hand account still paled in comparison to actually being here.

"I suppose fighting fiery enemies is the closest I've personally come. If you wanna talk metaphorically however I have been through some personally hells, but I don't think that applies here." But that she was referencing her past relationship troubles with Joe and Troy.

The descent into hll was incredibly jarring for Minerva, the moment she entered the portal, she was assaulted by the vile aura of hell and finding it hard to breathe. She, Ashe, and Noah landed beside Scott and Katy and in the surroundings of fire hell. Minerva gulped and tried to stady her nerves, suddenly she felt a hand touch her shoulder, followd by a wave of calm, her breathing became easier and her nerves calmed. She looked up to see it was Ashe.

" You should be fine now "

He walked awaybefore she could ask what he'd done or even thank him. As Scott put up his sacred energy dome, the demons and damned souls were pushed back. As they continued walking and encountering a foe from Scotts past, he asked if any of them had ever been to hell. Minerva shook her head automatically, the only place othr then arth that she'd been too was Asgard.

Noah considered for a moment " Yes and no, one of the Cod:Breakers training sots is three coliseums in a part of hell a sort of cut off part that swarmed by low level demons that Riku frequents, but i've never journeyed into any deeper parts of it "

Ashe was starring at Minerva, even with th ring that Riku had given her, the girls pure and innocent soul was still shining through. That would be a problem, even with the influence was trying to cast, he could sense the infernal all getting even more riled up. Seemed it was a good time as any to bring it up.

" I wander hell on many occasions "

Minerva was a little surprised to hear that, then again she really didnt know anything about this man named Ashe, she couldnt really sense anything from him, so she'd just assumed he was a human with supernatural powers, but now she was beginning to question that. Suddenly Ashe stopped and unleashed some strange power and Minerva knew instantly she'd been utterly wrong about him being a human. The power was massive and carried darkness exactly like hell, but there was also a light, like the two angels at the meeting. For a moment, fire hell seemed to be engulfed, but as the energy died down, fire hell became still and Noah noted that everything was coated in ice. But wouldnt stay that way for very long.

"I generally hide what I am, on order from Jericho, but if were going to be working together, then I see no reason not to reveal what I am.....I think that man called me a nephalem? I'm an angel.....that fell from heaven and gained the qualities of a demon "

Minerva gasped, she'd never heard of such a thing before " Um w-why? "

Ashe shrugged " If your asking what I did to cause my fall from grace....I dont know, father has erased me from history and memorie, including my own, I only recall waking up in the lowest level of hell, in front of a frozen lake......i'd rather not go into the rest, just know " he waved his hand and angelic light hovered over Scotts sacred energy dome " I'm very much able to help " his tone never left monotone, but he appeared to be mean what he said.

Los Angeles tower cast its massive shadow over the ruined portions of LA. Its grown ever since tis creation now housing up to a million people. Mostly humans but is famous for attracting supernatural creatures from all over the world. The existence of Tie and Earrings has made it unlikely anyone would get too brave and take over. However now the knowledge of yet another demonic invasion has made some more willing to act out. Tie decided to take the initiative and focus on the tower’s defenses while Earrings oversaw making sure everyone outside the tower evacuated.

Earrings walked through the remains of LA. It was constantly under development by private companies trying to profit over anyone wanting new real estate. Earrings wasn’t enthusiastic about trying to get every single person out, but this was his portion of the work he promised Tie he’d do as long as he get to start fighting any demons that appeared first. His own love for humans wasn’t like his sister’s so some bribery was necessary.

He kicked open the door to the pizza place called Vasquez’s Little Slice. The small restaurant was dark and empty with chairs orderly stacked and the entire place cleaned. He could hear someone jump in the back kitchen along with several dishes falling.

“WHO’S THERE!!!” A forty year old man, brown eyes and light skin came out with a pump action aiming at the angel. He was shaking and lowered it when he recognized who Earrings was. By now everyone in the city knew the Angels in some way. “Oh, sorry I didn’t-“

“I’m assuming you’re Vasquez? You should’ve been done an hour ago.”

He calmed down and put his weapon away and nodded. “Emmanuel Vasquez and yeah I’m trying to find an old picture of my wife. It’s the last one I have and…”

Earrings yawned as he went on with his story. He looked at a table and moved it along with a chair towards him. “I’m sure your story is charming but I’m hungry.” Earrings sat down and a menu appeared in his hand. “This sounds fun. Give me a whole fruit lover’s pizza, a few slices of Hungry Man and lemonade why not. How long will it take?”

“Um…awhile. Aren’t we about to get attacked soon. Maybe after-”

“Probably five minutes but you’re the only one not evacuated. I can hide us for at least forty minutes. Now start!” Earrings gave the man a look that showed he wasn’t joking and for the next 35 mins Emmanuel prepared a pizza with pineapple, kiwi and strawberries and cream cheese. The next pizza was a bit more traditional with cheese and a lot of meat. Probably too much for most. He put both on the table for Earrings who took a slice of each and ate them. The savored the flavor for a moment then chuckled. “You know some days I feel like Lucifer did nothing wrong, but not today. Your silly meal has given me motivation to work human and for that I’ll send you to safety. Also, your store will be kept safe.”

The owner sighed in relief and smiled. He would’ve hugged the Angel, but felt that might not end too well. “I didn’t think you’d like it so much.”

“No, it was terrible. However, it’s not much of a boring taste. Next time I’ll order the Eastern Tundra pizza.” Earrings snapped his fingers and Emmanuel was teleported to the tower. Earrings stood up and made his way out the door. The moment he stepped out he was met with dozens of demons in the street and many more in the air. One of them standing 15 meters tall spoke.

“Power. Your Power Is. It is Nirvana and yet. Corrupt! We will consume!” with every word he spoke flames poured out. They all looked familiar to the Angel but yet not. In some ways they felt more potent than the usual demonic soldiers he would deal with.

“You can try for as long as you like, but it really won’t matter. I’ll even give you a freebie.” As he spoke the sky above them was slowly covered in weapons coming from Earring’s armory. “. One free hit.”  He smiled and leaned against the store. “Don’t worry I rarely ever lie.”

Abby and Collin where fighting demons back to back the latter casting defensive spells as Abby used her vectors to tear them apart as she had the longer reach. By increasing his physical stats Collin would also handle whatever demon crept by Abby and got in to close. Eventually the swarms of demons started to overwhelm them. Collin and Abby shared a look, they had opted to head to Russia and was in one of the bigger cities. Sharing a nod Collin transformed into his Wendigo state while Abby covered him. Once transformed Collin viciously attacked the demon swarm. When he was able to draw the swarms attention Collin headed out towards the Russian Tundra to lead the swarm away. Abby took care of the demons that lingered behind then started a spell cast Collin had thought her on the fly to seal the portal in this area.

Scott listened as Katy told him that she had never been in Hell, only going through emotional pain so severe that it measured up. With his back turned, he did not see Minerva shake her head, but the fact that she did not answer in the affirmative made him feel glad. He knew that she could defend herself and that her spiritual strength was sufficient to resist the corruption, but he still hated the idea of anyone preying on such innocence, especially when it belonged to someone he loved. Noah told him that he had been in a customized Hell of a different dimension that the Code:Breakers used as a training ground, so he had limited experience with the realm. Given that Noah and Ashe came from the same organization that Riku was a part of, it was not surprising that they were familiar with this realm. However, it still caught Scott off-guard when Ashe said that he had wandered Hell on many occasions.

Scott stopped and turned around to face Ashe, needing to know more about what he meant by this.
"For what purpose have you wandered Hell on many occasions?" he asked, his curious tone laced with a bit of iron.
Ashe suddenly released a ton of energy that enveloped them, and Scott initially feared that his team was under attack by a traitor while being trapped in the Sacred Energy dome. His arms glowed and he prepared to unleash the Million Punches upon an Ashe that would come for him, Valor having locked on to his energy signature. However, when the light died down, Katy and the rest were unharmed and all of Fire Hell was encased in ice. Ashe had not moved from his spot, and Scott powered down, realizing that he had misread his intentions.

He listened as Ashe told them that he was a Nephilim, an angel that had fallen from Heaven and been corrupted by demonic forces. Why this had happened he could not remember, saying that someone known as 'father' had erased him from history and his memory along with it. Somewhere along the line he had ended up with the CB's, and now he had returned to a different version of Hell in order to fight for the good guys. Scott had encountered a Nephilim before, only in his dimension, it was the half-angel, half-demon offspring of a female demon that had been seduced down into Hell by a male demon. This Nephilim had embraced his demonic side and caused destruction, but after his defeat by Crusader, he had embraced his angelic side to find peace and meaning. Beings made up of light and darkness were the beings that needed Destroyer the most, someone to not judge them by their evil sides and help guide them to the light with trust, faith, and forgiveness.

It seems that we will fight alongside a Nephilim this time rather than against one.
Yeah, it seems that our travels are teaching us how to fight alongside people besides mutants. I thought we were almost meant to fight alone, but destiny seems to have different plans for us.
Scott approached Ashe after he bolstered their defenses with angelic light and smiled behind his helmet.
"Thank you for telling us about your nature, and for any help you can give us. As far as I'm concerned, we're still the same teammates after the reveal that we were before the reveal."

Scott turned and walked away, continuing to lead the party forward. With the ice keeping Fire Hell still, it was oddly peaceful. However, that peace was shattered when Dulzak came out of nowhere to their right and struck the Sacred Energy dome with the Rod of Ancients, proving that he could continuously manifest that weapon even if it were destroyed. When the rod made contact with the bolstered shield, however, the Sacred and angelic energies combined in a reaction that tossed him miles away in the direction he had come. Scott chuckled at his stupidity, knowing that this arrogant former Grymwar Chieftain would never choose to learn from his mistakes.
"You just can't help some people."

They had walked another two miles north when they caught sight of a medieval castle on a high cliff. No sooner had they spotted it when a great roar was heard that shook and reverberated the entire realm, breaking the ice and returning Fire Hell to normal.
Valor, show me the source of that roar.
Valor's spiritual eyes traveled up to the castle and penetrated the walls to find the King of Fire Hell sitting on a throne made from human bones in a room splattered with blood. He looked like Hellboy with his horns intact, with the red skin and demonic features one would expect. His armor was medieval style, covered his whole body except for his head, looked like it was made of cooled lava, and had spikes and demonic faces all over it.

Scott could sense immense power emanating from him, the kind that could reduce whole planets to ash with a snap of his fingers. This was not surprising given that he was one of the highest-ranking Archdemons and one of nine members that made up Satan's Council. Oddly, the Fire King carried no weapon, though with power like his, he hardly needed one. Valor saw the Fire King get up from his throne and disappear, using his control of the realm to warp himself from one place to another. He appeared ten feet from Scott and his party, standing eight feet tall and looking very intimidating in his might.
"Crusader, why have you trespassed into my realm?"

"Your forces are attacking Nirvana, the Buddhist afterlife and home of my Master Chiang Kaishu, the Bodhisatva who guides the faithful to become one with existence. You are attacking the innocent, and you know that my vow as Destroyer means that I can't let that pass."
The Fire King weighed these words, knowing that he was dealing with a cosmic being that would ultimately outrank him in the cosmic order.
"The order to make Nirvana the Tenth Realm of Hell came from Lord Satan himself, so if you want to stop it, you'll have to take it up with him. However, even the Destroyer cannot erase the ultimate sources of good and evil in the universe, so your chances of stopping him are very slim."
"My oath leaves me with no other way, and if anyone could defeat Satan in combat, it is me."

"Bold words, Crusader," Fire King said with a bit of an admiring smile, "but I don't intend to let you or your party pass through Fire Hell without a challenge."
"Even though you know I can't be killed or erased permanently, you still wish to fight?"
"I am bound by my own oath to stop the enemies of Lord Satan within the realms wherever I find them. I know that you must seek the most peaceful solution in any situation, but there can be no peaceful solution in this conflict."
"Then we will have the fight you seek, Fire King."
"It will be a fight to the death, Crusader, so prepare yourself accordingly."

Scott turned to his party.
"We have a long journey ahead of us, so it's best we stick to one-on-one battles in order to mitigate the damage to our party. I'll take the Fire King, and after that, we'll decide on a case-by-case basis who will fight the next demonic monarch."
Scott exited the Sacred Energy dome and was immediately set upon by evil spirits. With a single flare of his Sacred Aura, they were destroyed and the rest took the hint to back off. He took a Muay Thai stance to battle, and the Fire King lengthened his claws before taking his own open-handed forward stance.

The first stage of the battle would be a battle of the auras, as Scott's Sacred Aura clashed with the King's Corrupted Fire Aura, which glowed red with black spots resembling leprosy. Whoever could encircle and cage the other in their aura would have the upper hand, and it was quite a battle since the two auras were diametrically opposed and resisted each other in equal measure. The raging auras began to cause significant damage to Fire Hell, plunging evil souls into the abyss and even putting Scott's team at risk as the ground threatened to fall out from under them. Knowing he needed to act fast, Scott infused his Sacred Aura with Destructive Aura power, making it glow blue, white, and gold. Scott's two auras bested the Fire King's one aura, and soon he was trapped in the aura cage, no longer able to run or escape without warping. Scott shrank the aura to pull the monarch toward him and reduce his movement, which would put him in range of his Million Punches of Valor, his best technique for close quarters combat.

However, the Fire King was prepared to launch his own assault. When Scott was in his range, he unleashed rapid claw strikes so fast that a regular human's eyes could never have seen them. Scott took the blows without flinching thanks to his auras, which significantly slowed and weakened the Fire King's assault while strengthening his armor's durability and defenses. Within his auras, he could tank hits from anyone no matter how strong they were. Outside of his auras, Archdemons, Archangels, Cosmic entities, full gods, and Omega level mutants were the only ones that could damage and even destroy his armor depending on the attacks. As Scott got more Destroyer armor, his regular Valor armor would toughen up to resist these entities, as well, but even with full Destroyer Armor, his regular Valor Armor would never be completely invincible against the most powerful warriors in existence, though it would be powerful enough to allow him to protect the innocent from them, which was his purpose in life.

While the Fire King rained millions of ineffective blows down on him, Scott's arms charged up with his combined auras. When his opponent saw that the physical strikes were not working, he decided to take a magical approach. Snapping the fingers on his right hand, the entire battleground between the two was bathed in flames hotter than the Sun. Scott's armor resisted the flames thanks to his auras only, but he was starting to perspire heavily in his suit. When his arms had reached full power, Scott shrunk the aura so that the Fire King could not step back at all. From there, he unleashed his Million Punches of Valor, hitting him only in the face rather than all over his body, since he knew that the only way to permanently kill this Archdemon as Crusader was to destroy his head.

The Archdemon might have been able to survive this first attack in its entirety had it only been coming from the Destructive Aura, but the Sacred Aura contained in his fists ensured his death. After the 999th punch to the face, Scott pulled back his right arm to charge up a fully-powered finishing blow.
"SACRED FIST OF VALOR!!!"
He threw the punch forward with all of his might, but amazingly, the Fire King waited until the absolute last second and warped away to dodge the finisher. Valor immediately locked on to his energy signature, and sensed the King reappearing in his castle throne room.
You won't escape me that easily, especially not in a battle to the death.

Scott enlarged his aura greatly, covering the entire realm in his Sacred Destructive Aura, which would seal the portals to escape the realm and leave him nowhere to go. Locking that cage in place and with the cage his team was behind still in place, he expanded a third aura to encircle the castle and began dragging it toward him. The castle was dragged off the edge of the cliff, and the Fire King was forced to leave the castle, though his warping powers were greatly weakening thanks to all of the purity stifling the corruption of his realm. Only the strongest impure souls were not erased from existence, and the King was feeling constant pain in his whole body. He was left with no choice but to return to battle and face his death. Letting out a mighty roar, he charged at Scott with all of his remaining power, flying through the air at great speed.

Scott summoned the right Destroyer Arm upon his Valor Armor and began charging up a Shining Fist attack made from Sacred Energy. Raising his arm, he took aim at the oncoming monarch, who had extended his own clawed hand to attack Scott once he was in range. When the attack was ready, his face became set in grim determination as he prepared to strike the final blow.
"EXORCISING FIST OF VALOR!!!"
A blue energy blast the size of Scott's entire body erupted from his arm and hit the Fire King with incalculable force. There was a great death scream in the realm before his head and the entire rest of his body was destroyed.

When the dust had settled, Scott lowered his arm and all of the Sacred Energy domes disappeared except for the one around his party. Letting out a tired breath, he chuckled and then walked back to his friends. Once he had stepped back into the Sacred Energy dome, he gave them an unseen smile.
"It's been a long time since I've had to use that much power to defeat an enemy. These Archdemons are definitely the real deal."
After getting his breath back, he turned to face the exit to the next realm of Hell.

"Well, our business here is concluded. We'd best be moving on for the sake of our friends back home."
Scott began leading them to the exit portal, but when they arrived, Dulzak was waiting for them.
"Scott, I won't rest until I kill you! Face me in battle like you did the Fire King!"
He still won't let the grudge go even after I just killed someone much stronger than him, the idiot.

Scott ignored him and the party passed through the exit portal after the Sacred Energy dome forced him aside.
"Dulzak killed many innocent humans on Earth when I was eighteen, and I destroyed him to turn back that invasion. He meant to kill me and enslave Earth, and neither he nor his soldiers cared who they had to kill in order to do it. The greatest punishment that I can give him is to have him spend eternity in Fire Hell without ever getting his chance to settle the score between us. For someone like him, that is the worst punishment that he could receive."
The inter-dimensional light faded and they finally set foot in the next realm of Hell.


In Nirvana itself, multiple Fire Paths opened to indicate that new parties would be joining this battle. The first to step out of his own portal was Cybernator, who had changed the color scheme of his armor to green and black but otherwise remained as dangerous to his enemies as ever. Looking over the battlefield in front of him, he laughed with psychotic glee, ready to kill multitudes of demons.
"LET'S GET IT ON!!!"
A Gatling gun protruded from his chest, and two more popped up from his shoulders. Raising his arms, missile launchers popped out from his gauntlets.

With a computerized AI taking aim, he was guaranteed to hit his targets and not any of his allies. The missiles fired at great pace, and the machine guns spit lead like it was going out of style. These missiles and bullets were blessed by a military priest from the Vatican, and so they annihilated the demons they hit without mercy. The explosions rocked the battlefield and were certain to get everybody's attention for sure, since Cybernator never did things subtly. Hordes of demons honed in on him, and those that could get past the missiles and bullets entered the kill zone of his backup plan. Twin special laser cannons shot from his eyes to incinerate the demons when they were close, and his insane laughter as he slaughtered demon after demon was enough to give even the most-hardened person chills.

From a second portal came the dozen Martyrs who were wielding two Voltari Fists. Each of them fought bravely without using aura, since they would only get two shots with a Fist of Voltari and afterwards would be completely vulnerable to their demonic foes. All of them gathered demons as they could and then attacked all at once with their Fist special attacks in order to kill as many demons as possible. They did the same thing another time as the battle wore on, and they had used up their power. Like Holbrook's portal, it had closed and they could not get to safety. Half of them were swiftly killed, and the other six would be killed soon if no one helped them get to safety in Chiang's city.

The third and final portal unleashed thousands of almost fully-trained mages and superheroes onto the field, the Superior classes of Shadowgreen and Wintergreen that would graduate in a month if they survived this war. Powerful magic flew everywhere and killed multitudes of demons. Superheroes of all powers and abilities rampaged and annihilated the demons that they found. Some mages and superheroes got the Martyrs to safety and then continued stomping out demons. This swarm of vicious and powerful new backup combined with the CB's and others to push the demons off the battlefield. More were coming, but the tactic now was to keep them from hitting the battlefield, and so the mages, superheroes, Cybernator, and others hit them with their best distance attacks to keep them at bay.

The New Bloods of Shadowgreen and Wintergreen were keeping Scott's dimension demon-free with the help of Enjela's teleportation and emotional support. Solaris' Fire Paths into other Earths saw the Median students of both schools close portals left and right, as well. The Shadow Force was on HU Earth with Madame Shadow, doing their best to give those heroes solid back-up. A portal opened in Nirvana once more and Master Permafrost, head of Wintergreen, stepped out onto the battlefield in all his icy glory. Strolling up to the firing line, he unleashed grandmaster ice spells that froze the hordes and made them easier for his allies to kill. With the greatest ice master of Scott's dimension working with so many other powerful heroes, Nirvana was safer than ever from the hordes, allowing the surviving monks to flee to safety in Chiang's city.

However, all of the multitudes of demons were being controlled by higher-ranked demons known as Generals, and they saw that their power would be needed in this battle. The Generals of Fire Hell, nine in all, now began to move into action. One found Collin and Abby in Russia and began attacking alongside a horde of 1000 lesser demons that they had summoned. A second did the same with Tie, a third with Earrings. A fourth attacked Shadow Force, a fifth the New Bloods. The sixth attacked the Medians, the seventh attacked the Code:Breakers, the eighth attacked HU's other united heroes, and the ninth attacked Chiang's city while the Superiors and others had their backs turned, making Nirvana a two-front battle.

Katy listened to Scott explain a little about Dulzak as they passed through the portal to the next realm of hell. And he was done Katy spoke up. "Huh maybe I should of whooped his ass before we left. By the sounds of it, he's the type of guy that had a girl kicked his ass, it would of shattered his pride." She smiled amusingly, doubting they'd be returning through all 9 realms as she figure likely a portal would open for them at the end, but just to lighten the mood she commented "Well maybe on the way back."

-----

Abby was overwhelmed by the sudden army of demons heading her way and cast a teleportation enchantment just in the nick of time to teleport to a safer area and avoid a violent and painful death. She knew she'd quickly be found again but at least she had a moment to get her bearings together. Using the psychic channels set up by both James with the Cerebral and Sandra, Abby was able to contact Collin and explained she needed him back here ASAP. A entire new swarm, what looked like a entire army had just shown up. No way Abby could confront such a force by herself, the sheer numbers alone would overwhelm her eventually.

Collin has lead the old swarm out into the wilderness where he was able to use the surrounds to his advantage. He was quick to get the swarm separated and lost in the thick brush and forest, and he was moving around quickly killing them one at a time. As he crushed the head of the last demon, Abby's call for help came in and Collin quickly started making his way back to Abby's location.

-----

Sandra had just closed up yet another portal as Tanesha and Roberta wiped up a small few demons lucky enough to evade Sandra's cosmic attacks. Honestly the other two girls highly doubted Sandra had missed and suspected she just left a few alive so Tani and Roberta wouldn't be bored as Sandra sealed the portals up.

Ashe simply shrugged, not sure how else to respond to Scott, as the party continued they soon found themselves at a medieval castle where the ffire king resided. His immense power washed over, Minerva clutched her chest, she hadnt felt power like this since the great witch that had unleashed her minions on earth. She felt so small in comarison as she watched Scott face off against the fire king. Would she have to face such a foe as well? She gripped her arm as the battle became so intense.

" You dont have to fight any opponents if you dont feel up to it. I'll take whoever on in your stead " Minerva looked at Ashe, shocked that he was offering.

" B-But you'll have your own battle as well, and Scott said we should preserve our-

" Don't worry about me, I have plenty of power to use " he shrugged " Only if you want "

Minerva thought about this, her first thought was to say yes. But then what did she come here for if she wasnt going to fight, what was the point in just sitting on the side line " Thank you, but I want to fight too, I can't let my sensei down "

Ashe considered mentioning that Riku asked him to come along in the first place to protect her, but decided against it, he could see the determination in her eyes, foolish as it may be. He nodded at her, though when it got down to a matter of life and death, he would step in and readily save her. He went back to watching the fight, Noah was accessing the enemies fighting style and overall power level.

As Scott finished his fight and came back, Minerva immediately went to him " Scott, that was incredible! Are you hurt? "

-----------------------------------------------------------

" OH COME ON WHATS WITH THIS BULLSHIT! " Riku exclaimed as one of the generals appeared with a large horde of demons. He got word that they were appearing all over the world and rolled his eyes " Gee guys I think we might be in trouble, FUCK THAT SHIT, LIGHT THE BITCH UP!! "