“Look out!” Allen slammed his shoulder against Thaedus and rocketed his leader from danger. The Great-Apes fist consumed his vision, on target as it flattened his body and hurled him through the air.
The world warped around him, all sight lost to speed until the ground brought him to a sudden, painful halt. Goku - if this beast truly was his friend - roared his triumph to the heavens. Taller than a good sized building, the Great-Ape slammed its fists against its chest and vanished in a blur.
It reappeared behind Anissa, hands spread wide as he brought them together onto her body. Caught like a fly between the ape’s palms, blood forced itself from the Viltrumite woman’s mouth. Allen forced himself to his feet, against the loud recommendations of his damaged flesh.
“Get it together, Goku!” A few unsteady steps and Allen returned to the air, ready to rejoin the fight. Thaedus had retreated outside the atmosphere, already on his way back with thunderous momentum. “Don’t make us hurt you!”
The Great-Ape let Anissa fall for a moment, before a massive foot lashed out to send her straight at Allen’s face. He dodged the humanoid missile, but found his vision filled with shaggy fur. The ape moved faster than sight, fist positioned to drive him back into the ground.
“Wake up, you fool!” Thaedus dove from orbit, both fists driven into the back of the Great-Ape’s head before it could crush Allen flat. The force of the blow drove the air away, a vacuum that filled the planet with hurricane winds. “You’re trying to murder your allies!”
Deep, red tinted rage glowed from the depths of the Great-Ape’s eyes, its neck barely shifted forward by Thaedus’ surprise attack. It roared out and spun, hands open wide to swat both Allen and his leader into the ground. Body pushed deep into stony soil, Allen struggled to hold onto his consciousness.
“Rage and instinct, a poor combination,” a cool, slightly musical voice, called the Ape’s attention to the sky, alongside Allen’s blurred focus. A shadowed figure stood level with the clouds, side by side with an elderly humanoid man. “Even poor Pride is buried, lost to your mindless predation.”
The Great-Ape howled at the newcomers, determined to crush them to dust alongside the rest. Allen flinched as the beast vanished with a flex of its legs, a leap that brought it face to face with the shadowed figure and his elderly accomplice.
“Such a waste… power without control has its value stripped away,” The midnight-black humanoid frowned as Goku’s monstrous form appeared before it like a mountain of fur. “You might have a chance, if you could force your mind to obey…”
“Just finish this quickly, Etrigan,” the old man gave the ape a disappointed look and tapped his staff in the air. “I have isolated this space, your attacks will have no effect on the planet below.”
Etrigan raised a casual hand, palm forward to halt the Great-Ape’s fist. His frown turned to a smile as a flex of his arm tossed Goku back to the earth. Feet suspended on grey-black flame, he walked down with a casual grace that tightened Allen’s chest. The abyssal eyes of this newcomer triggered a primal fear, the urge to return to the warm bright of the fire and wait for dawn.
“It seems this part of you has forgotten its place,” Etrigan glanced at both Allen and Thaedus and widened his smile, before he landed next to the wrathful ape. The beast ignored his words, mouth opened as it charged a deadly blast of ki. “Oh? It seems like you’ve readied a coup-de-grace…”
Unconcerned, Etrigan made his way toward the glow inside the ape’s maw. He examined his claws and picked a trace of dirt free, before his mouth opened in a shark-toothed yawn. He summoned a small ball of ash-grey fire on his palm and faced the coming attack with a bored face.
“Come now, childish beast,” Etrigan raised the ashen flame and gave a gentle blow. Goku’s blast lanced forward, an all consuming light that seemed ready to overwhelm the effort of his enemy. “Let us see, just how much your power has increased!”
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“Welcome to your new home!” May’s magically enhanced voice reached out to the ears of the thousands of new arrivals. Kara buzzed with excitement as she breathed deep of the pure, untainted air. “New-Krypton, formally known as Zonama Sekot, is the centre of the Empire. In less than three days, millions of our Kryptonian brothers and sisters will awaken… they must be trained as you were trained, guided by those of us who came before.”
The Kryptonians at the head of the crowd nodded, their focus laser tight as they took in their Empresses words. Kara reached out and slapped Cal on his shoulder, a smile on her lips as she took in the beauty of their new home.
“To the non-Kryptonians who stand with us today, know that you have an important place in the Empire as well,” May continued, suspended in the air by a bright network of runes. She waved her hand and a string of lights formed, a path to guide the masses. “Sekot, the consciousness of the planet, has grown enough homes for you all, and soon magical and marital classes will resume for all who are interested.”
A wide, coral roadway formed under the guiding lights, ready to carry the people to their new homes. Countless youths, all with at least some degree of Force sensitivity, made their way toward the walkway. Sith, Mon Calamari, Twi-leks, and countless others from races across the galaxy, gathered during Krypton’s campaigns and raised to follow the Empire's ideals.
“If you have any trouble, or questions, please assess the main network,” May projected the image of a rather sinister mechanical humanoid, the fabled Ultron that Kara and the others had learned about in their lessons. “Ultron can solve most problems, or give you the information needed to solve issues on your own… take your time and relax, we’ll have several months of downtime before the Empire will move once more!”
Kara tightened her hands into fists. The last war had been a test, the next would be for the true foundations of the Empire. This galaxy contained countless habitable worlds and species, trillions of sapient beings that would need to be brought into the fold. Even after the genesis chambers of New-Krypton birthed the second generation, they would be outnumbered thousands to one by the worlds they needed to control.
“Come on Cal, let's go sign up as a team,” Kara pulled her friend through the crowd, toward the Kryptonian sleeping quarters. When the next generation was born, the older Kryoptonians would be paired to a hundred of their younger brethren. “We’ll train in groups of ten first gens to a thousand newborns… with my knowledge of combat and your magical skills, our group will stand well above the others!”
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“How have you found this place?” Anger turned her masked scowl to face Dan as he floated into the Priestesses' chamber. She raised her hands, palms out, and called upon the others. “Come sisters, let us cast him out together!”
“Hold up!” Dan raised his own hands and hovered before the five force entities. These Priestesses were far less amiable to his presence than the ones he’d already met, with even Serenity giving only a cold glare. “I’m not here to fight, only to talk… I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, there’s no reason we have to be enemies.”
“We follow the will of the Force,” Serenity drifted to the front of the group and faced Dan with her neutral mask. “It commands that we banish you, so it is not our minds that must be changed if you wish to ally with us.”
Dan suppressed his annoyance and let himself lower to the ground. Killing these avatars would be meaningless. They would reform almost instantly, birthed by the Force itself. Their temporary deaths would also do nothing to stop the hidden clockwork system from sending him to random universes.
“Can you explain why the Force is so afraid of me?” Dan met Serenity’s gaze without flinching, fearless despite the power behind her eyes. The Force gazed at him through its avatars, but he knew it wouldn’t attack him directly. “I don’t have any ill will toward this universe… in fact, I plan on making it a safer place for all forms of life.”
“Not all forms of life…” Sadness blinked teary eyes in his direction and waved a hand. A vision of the worlds of the galaxy, reformed to fit Krypton’s will, projected across the skies. “You will disrupt the balance, send out a call that cannot be taken back…”
“The Force demands you travel far, why can’t you accept its decision?” Confusion shook her head and banished her sister's illusion. “Look at the power it has brought you… strength that is still insufficient to change the tide of fate…”
“We have said enough,” Serenity cut off her sister’s with a long glare, before she returned her focus to Dan’s face. “For now, the clockwork system will continue its work… we cannot disobey the Force’s will, but we are also not your enemy.”
Dan let out a tired sigh. One day, his power would stand above the Force itself. For now, he had no choice except to abide by its declarations. These avatars had no choice either, so he did his best to let go of any grudge in his heart. He gave the woman a short nod and returned to the air.
“Fine… but if you can, I’d appreciate a less dramatic send off,” The inescapable portals indiscriminately dragged his surroundings along for the ride, something he wished to avoid. “If you send me a warning first, I can get into a better position to be sent on my way.”
“I can send you a warning, but you need to make me a promise!” Joy poked her head from behind the others, her smiling face tilted to the side. “When you begin your war for the galaxy, take care to minimise death… even the darkest of creatures can have a greater purpose!”
“Deal!” Dan smiled back at the woman’s mask. He already had a standing order to his forces, one that prioritised non-violent intervention over direct conflict. “Some will always die in war, but I promise to do my best to lessen the cost!”
He waved at the five sisters and turned to the rocky sky. It was time to reconnect with his summons and test his true strength. Etrigan was in need of a solid beating, something Dan was only too excited to provide. But first, he would activate his mass summon and get himself a pirate fleet.