Elemental Anarchy

Elemental Anarchy is the first "half" of the second part of the series The Rise of The Order Empire: Reborn, a series created by the user BoredUser231. Famine, the last of the four horsemen to appear on Inamorta, has just taken control of twenty-two highly dangerous elementals and aims to convert all of Elementalia into his own personal empire on Inamorta. If Famine is to be stopped, Zealon and the Outlaws will need to push themselves to their limits, make friends with enemies, and destroy all of the escaped elementals.

Prologue: The Lab

"Testing chamber recording number seventy-five. We've taken in thirty-five elementals, some of which we can't even call elementals and we've decided to try our attempts at modifying their genetic code, to see if we can potentially discover more about our past on Inamorta, and maybe even discover if there is something stronger than even the legendary V." An Elementalian scientist said, logging a recording to be replayed in the future. "Okay, bring in Test Subject Twenty, codename: Judgement. Judgement started off as a blank elemental, like all of us in our young years. However, his elemental trait hasn't developed yet, he's applied in the hopes of unlocking his elemental trait. Now, Judgement, please try and ignite this candle."

"Yes, sir." Judgement said, trying to concentrate so that he could end up igniting the wick of the candle.

"While Judgement here is loyal to us, there are a few rogue subjects. While we aren't exactly able to control them yet, we are beginning to work on a special serum that will end up allowing us to be able to make sure that nothing ends up going awry in the field of battle-" The scientist said before Famine, appearing to the Elementals as a massive swarm of locust-like creatures, burst into the laboratory, catching everyone in the lab off-guard. "How about I help?" Famine said, flying through all of the scientists, gnawing at their necks and ripping them to shreds. "Stand back, professor!" Judgement said, trying to protect the scientist that was with him. However, it was useless, without any elemental abilities, Judgement could only watch in horror as Famine killed the last scientist, then looking towards him.

"You're an interesting one, Judgement. I hear that you're one of the few elementals without an element." Famine said, looking at Judgement. "Tell you what, if you tag along with me, I'll show you your element."

"No! Not after what you just did to those innocent Elementals!" Judgement said, refusing Famine's offer to become his chosen. "No? Here's where you're wrong, child. YOU NEVER HAD A CHOICE." Famine said, killing Judgement by cutting him into pieces. "Now, let's see what other things are in here..." Famine said, using half of his body to look at the rest of the subjects and the other half to figure out what to do with the now-deceased Judgement. "Wait... Why should I pick just one chosen, when there's a whole army in here waiting for me?" Famine said, cackling at the thought of destroying Elementalia and obtaining his own personal army from the ashes.

Chapter I: The Lovers

"Fine. Elementalia Experiment Six, The Lovers. They're at the southern end of Elementalia." Stheno said, revealing the location of one of the rogue Elementals. "The Lovers?" Zealon asked Stheno, confused as to why the Elementalian Scientists would pick that name for the test subjects. "They're all named after the major arcana of cards that the Chaos Empire believes in," Medusa replied, explaining why the test subjects were named the way they were. "But why name them after stuff from the Chaos Empire?" Cyclonio asked, not breaking eye contact with Stheno, in case she somehow escaped. "Beats me," Medusa said, taking her foot off of the Dead Oak's brake pedal. "Right. Well, to the lab, I guess." Cyclonio said, turning the ship in the direction of Southern Elementalia, then flying over there as fast as the Dead Oak could go.

"Alright, get ready, everyone. This is gonna get intense." Zealon said, getting all of his strongest weapons ready for a massive fight against anything and everything. "You honestly think you're not overdoing it?" Medusa asked, looking at Zealon getting literally everything from his arsenal. "Nope! Not at all!" Zealon said back, getting everything from his arsenal inside of the Dead Oak into a bag that he could carry around. "Jeez, Medusa, it ain't like it's a "You're carrying too much and can't run" sort of thing. I say let the guy keep his guns! Let's see what happens when we're in REAL danger!" Cyclonio said, making a sarcastic remark on Zealon bringing every single gun that he had. "But, I'll take my rifle. Just in case." Cyclonio later said, grabbing his rifle from his weapon rack and putting it in his bag.

Around half an hour earlier, Famine was rounding up all of the elementals in the lab, along with piling up all of the dead scientists. "Okay, all of us are here?" Famine asked the elementals, who had lined up in front of him. Test Subject Zero, The Fool, nodded, pointing out that nearly all of the experiments were with Famine. "Hold on, where's the Magician?" Famine said, realising that Test Subject One, The Magician, wasn't present with the other elementals. "We don't know, sir. His capsule was already broken when we searched for him." Test Subject Two, The High Priestess said to Famine, explaining why the Magician wasn't present. "Um... Let me check his files quickly... Test Subject One, Codename The Magician, He's a Fire Elemental fused with Lenathor's ashes?! Are you kidding me?!" Famine said, reading the Magician's files and discovering why he couldn't possess him. "Great... He's still Death's Chosen."

The Dead Oak descended from the skies as fast as it could towards the lab. However, as they were descending, the group noticed a V, Cycloid and three other, unknown elementals flying past the ship. As the elementals were flying away, Stheno noticed that the V had a clearly visible "0-4" branded onto its right shoulder. "Why 0-4? Wait... The Emperor..." Stheno thought to herself, realising why that specific number had been branded onto the V. "We're coming in fast! Get ready to get out there and stop whoever's still in that lab!" Cyclonio shouted, announcing to the rest of the Outlaws that they were nearing the lab. Meanwhile, down at the lab, the Lovers, a fire elemental and a water elemental were waiting for anyone to try and discover anything on how to find the other elementals, Famine or worst of all, Kronos. "Hey, Bruciato, do you think that the others left us behind just because we're the weakest?" Affogata, the water elemental of the Lovers asked Bruciato, the fire elemental of the Lovers. "I... honestly don't know. The Star said we were left behind so we could look out for anyone snooping around, but I'm not too sure. But, we're not the weakest. As long as we have the will to believe in each other, we'll never be the weakest."

The Dead Oak landed at the lab, Zealon, Medusa, Hydranian and Cyclonio running towards the lab at full speed. "Be ready for ANYTHING in there! No matter how bad it is there!" Zealon shouted to the group, later breaking the door open. The group saw a laboratory, completely ruined by what Famine had done to the place. The capsules containing each of the test subjects had been shattered, the glass on the floor. The scent of rotting flesh filled the lab, as well as the sense of impending doom. "Well, well, well! Looks like The Star was correct after all!" Bruciato said to the group, levitating down to the ground, Affogata holding his hand as he levitated down. "Let me guess, The Lovers?" Cyclonio said, getting a gun ready.

"In the flesh, my air elemental friend," Affogata said, both her and Bruciato grinning at the Outlaws, causing them to slightly tremble at them. "While we may be the weakest of the test subjects, that doesn't mean we won't go down without a fight-"

"SHUT UP!" Zealon said, grabbing a minigun and firing it at the Lovers. Affogata put up a packed ice shield, similar to what Hydranian had done at Technion Warehouse Six, while Bruciato preferred using his agility to simply dodge the bullets. Affogata then proceeded to freeze Zealon's body. "You've gotta be kidding me, these guys can dodge bullets!" Cyclonio said, realising that conventional weaponry would be useless against even the weakest of the Elementals. Bruciato chuckled, mocking the Outlaws. "THESE are the people who defeated Death's chosen a year ago? How on Terra did you manage THAT when you're so weak?" Bruciato said, Cyclonio beginning to tremble. "Oh yeah? Well, I guess you didn't figure to make sure that your surroundings were secure, huh?" Cyclonio said, his stance completely changing as he saw both Medusa and Hydranian break off a piece of the lab and use it to try and crush the Lovers.

"Bruciato!" Affogata said, pushing Bruciato out of the way and attempting to take the hit. The rubble fell on Affogata, also slightly hurting Bruciato. "AFFOGATA!" Bruciato said, running to the rubble and trying to pry the water elemental that he loved out from the debris. After a while, he managed to pull them out, cradling them. "Affogata... No..." Bruciato quietly said to Affogata, thinking that they had died. Bruciato's expression quickly changed from a mournful one to a determined one, his eyes starting to glow a deep orange, like how Lenathor's did when he was under the control of the Sun Crystal. "Affogata... I won't let these outlaws win against us! For you, I'll kill every last one!" Bruciato said, ripping his eyes out, as to not be petrified by Medusa. "Is this guy nuts?! He's fighting blind!" Zealon said, being able to move again.

"No, this is something much, much worse. He's trying to overpower us using his resolve as a fuel source." Medusa said, Bruciato jumping at her and flinging as many fireballs as he could at the gorgon. Medusa covered herself up with her cloak, which managed to absorb most of the hits until she looked out from under it to see Bruciato, his eye sockets bleeding, lunging at her, later punching her as hard as he could, sending her flying into the sky. "Good grief!" Hydranian said, throwing several icicles at Bruciato. However, Bruciato heated the air around him up, melting the icicles before they could do any major damage to him. "We've gotta help them!" Cyclonio said with Zealon nodding back.

The Outlaws regrouped, facing the eye-less Bruciato, crazed by his beliefs that Affogata, the one he cared about, had perished. "The only way we're gonna beat this guy is if we figure out how he's able to see us so clearly... I'll have to see what's going on before I can do anything to him," Cyclonio thought to himself, deciding to quietly observe Bruciato's fighting style before deciding on how to defeat him. Hydranian, Zealon and Medusa lunged at the fire elemental, Bruciato getting ready for anything that would hit him. Medusa started by pulling out her sword and attempting to cut off Bruciato's head. However, Bruciato jumped up, causing Medusa to miss before he would create a chamber of fire to trap her. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Air Elemental!" Bruciato said, also trapping Cyclonio in another chamber of fire.

Through all of this, Affogata had woken up, realising what had been happening above her. "Oh god... He didn't..." Affogata said to herself, realising that Bruciato may have hurt himself in order to defeat the Outlaws. For Zealon, Bruciato melted the floor beneath him, trapping him in a pit that would slowly fill with lava. "Crap! I gotta warn Stheno!" Hydranian thought to himself, running back to the Dead Oak before realising that he was slowly turning into vapour. "Don't bother moving, Water. I've made it so that the amount of effort your body needs to go through in order to move is incredibly high, meaning that you'll evaporate yourself if you even TRY to call for help."

The group was trapped, Zealon had already given up, not seeing any way to get out. Medusa and Cyclonio tried to get out, however, the two were met with the fire only getting stronger. While Hydranian was forced to not move a single muscle, in case he ended up evaporating himself. Bruciato sensed the four trapped in their own cells, made just for them, then went down to Affogata, still believing she had died. "I don't get it... How did he know where we were?" Cyclonio thought to himself, realising that they had lost.

"Affogata!" Bruciato screamed, running in the direction of Affogata. "Please... Please be okay... PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE AGAIN!" Bruciato screamed, trying not to burst into tears, even if he could after what he had done to himself, at the thought of losing Affogata, the one he had grown to love for what seemed like almost all of his life. "It couldn't have been him sensing vibrations in the ground... How did he see me?" Cyclonio thought to himself as he began to put the pieces together as to how Bruciato was able to figure out where they all were so easy. Affogata coughed, looking at Bruciato, cradling her. "B-Bruciato?" Affogata said, confused as to what was happening. Bruciato, realising that Affogata was okay, smiled in joy, hugging her. "I'm glad you're alright," Bruciato said with the two later hugging each other.

"Vibrations... What if... I wonder..." Cyclonio thought to himself, using his air power to fling a piece of rock into the air at high velocity. Bruciato sensed it, thinking it was Cyclonio, then destroying it. "That's how he's figured it out! He's sensing the atmosphere for our movement!" Cyclonio thought to himself, signalling to the others that if they wanted to get out, they needed to make sure not to disturb the air around them. The three each tricked Bruciato accordingly, letting themselves out, then quietly heading towards the Dead Oak to get Stheno's help. Once they reached the Dead Oak, they released Stheno from her handcuffs. "Whoa, what-"

"Shh..." Medusa said, Stheno realising what was going on.

"Alright, just tell me what to do, and I'll get it done," Stheno whispered to the group, Zealon pointing towards the Lovers. Stheno snuck over to the Lovers, preparing her electrified sword. Stheno first distracted Bruciato, by making it seem as if one of the Outlaws had escaped. After Bruciato took the bait, Hydranian froze him, allowing Stheno to try and finish off Affogata. Stheno ran at Affogata, Affogata and Bruciato, in a panic, attempted to send a lightning bolt towards Stheno. However, this was easily deflected by Stheno absorbing the bolt into her sword, then using it to electrocute Bruciato. Stheno grabbed Affogata by the neck, raising her into the air and in turn cutting off all of Affogata's airways. "Now, Lovers, prepare to watch one of your own get killed in front of your eyes!" Stheno said, grinning disturbingly at Bruciato, who was panicking inside of the ice.

"Any last requests, Lover?" Stheno said, her smile not going away. Affogata couldn't breathe until eventually, she collapsed in front of the Outlaws and Bruciato, who realised that Affogata was truly dead this time. "Something wrong, hothead?" Stheno said, mocking Bruciato. Bruciato, completely broken by what had happened to Affogata, hung his head. "No, do what you want with me, Gorgon," Bruciato said, accepting his defeat. Stheno smiled more than she did when breaking Bruciato, then slashed at Bruciato's head with her sword, decapitating his head.

"Jeez, Stheno!" Medusa said, realising what her sister had done to the Lovers, two innocent people who were simply converted into Famine's chosen. "What? They're the chosen of the people who betrayed me when I needed them most. They deserve it." Stheno said, seeing no problems in what she did to the Lovers. Cyclonio and Hydranian were in shock. "Right... Just, g-go easy on the elementals next time, alright?" Medusa said, Stheno rolling her eyes at the thought. "Go easy on them... Yeah right."

"I got the files on the elementals!" Zealon said, holding the files containing the rest of the elementals. Medusa quietly chuckled, realising that Zealon was oblivious to what had happened. "Alright, Stealthidon, let's move," Medusa said, the group entering the Dead Oak. "Between you and me, Stheno, welcome to the team," Zealon whispered to Stheno, Stheno dismissing Zealon's comment. "Stupid stickman..."

Chapter II: The Hierophant & Temperance

"Test subjects five and fourteen. Codenames The Hierophant and Temperance respectively." Cyclonio said, reading the files on the other elementals while Zealon piloted the Dead Oak back to the base. "Alright, The Hierophant was originally a construction Earth Elemental in the past, having joined the experiment in the hopes of increasing his elemental power. The Hierophant's abilities include being able to apply tremendous amounts of pressure onto a select piece of earth, strong enough that they are capable of creating various precious stones, however, the strongest rock that they have been seen creating is are emeralds unlike any other rock seen on Elementalia. They are capable of breaking these emeralds and using them as weaponry. Great, next guy's got incredibly powerful emeralds. What else? The Hierophant is also incredibly agile, being capable of dodging bullets, expected, that's it?" Cyclonio said, realising that the Hierophant wasn't exactly that ability heavy compared to the Lovers.

"Shut up and read the others!" Stheno screamed through the Dead Oak's hall, as she was handcuffed to the pipe again.

"Alright, alright! Tell me which ones to read!"

"I don't know, just think of a number or something!"

"Alright! Number... Okay, you know what, I'm going to the end of this file. Subject Twenty-One, codename, The World. Huh, his file's been ripped out. Same goes for The Star, Judgement, Empress, and Emperor." Cyclonio said, realising that some of the files had been ripped out of the book. "Weird, guess Famine didn't want anyone figuring out what they're abilities were," Medusa said, also confused as to why their files had been ripped out specifically, instead of any other files. "Anyway, onto Temperance- OH GOD DAMN IT!"

"What's up?" Zealon asked Cyclonio, looking away from the front window of the Dead Oak.

"They ripped out Temperance's file as well!" Cyclonio said, showing Zealon the torn file. However, what the two didn't realise was that they were about to crash into one of Elementalia's mountains. "LOOK OUT-" Hydranian said before the Dead Oak crashed into the mountain, then flying off course and smack bang into the centre of Elementalia, where everyone had gathered. Everyone nearby had run away from where the Dead Oak was going to crash, and then returned to the crash site, to see what had happened. However, what the Outlaws didn't know, was that somewhere, among the crowds, The Hierophant and Temperance were waiting for the Outlaws.

Zealon was the first to exit the destroyed Dead Oak. Running out of the ship and then throwing up at one of its feet shortly after, confusing most of the Elementalian civilians who had come outside to see what happened. Cyclonio was the next to exit the ship, flying out in a panic to see what had happened to his ship and list in his head all the damage that had been done to the Dead Oak, inside and out. "Well, Temperance, you got two choices. You know what to do." The Hierophant said to Temperance, who simply nodded to his white-haired companion, then disappearing into the crowd.

Meanwhile, the Hierophant began to communicate to Famine telepathically. "Famine, the Outlaws are still alive. The Lovers failed at their task," The Hierophant communicated to Famine, later hearing his incredibly frustrated sigh. "Of COURSE they fail, the two were too caught up worrying about each other, weaklings. Weaklings. WEAKLINGS!" Famine said, getting more and more infuriated at realising that the Lovers, despite being the weakest but also incredibly powerful, had lost to the Outlaws, who he believed to be but simple maggots compared to his power.

Far away from Famine, Pestilence and Death were talking about Famine's fits of rage. "Jeez, the guy seems calm, but he does have a temper." Pestilence, having only just escaped from his fight with the Outlaws said to Death, the latter nodding soon after. Pestilence tried to approach Famine to comfort them, despite their condition but was instead held back by Death. "Don't Pestilence. You'll only get hurt more." Death said, their expression remaining the same. "Wait-"

"If you're gonna say that it seems like I'm actually caring about you, I do. A lot. I just don't show it that often because of dad and War." Death said, not looking at Pestilence, who was smiling in awe at the fact that Death, one of the two horsemen who seemed heartless and evil to the core, had even the slightest bit of humanity within them. "Tell War or Famine about this and I kill you." Death said, looking at Famine, Death's eyes beginning to glow a deep purple, signifying that they meant what they said with a burning fury. Pestilence nodded, lightly smiling at the fact that what he believed to be the evilest of their siblings had a heart deep down. Death, despite their expression, then looked at Pestilence, slightly smiling back.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! The ship's fine, but some of its parts have just been wrecked by what happened!" Cyclonio said, Medusa and Hydranian having exited the Dead Oak, confused as to what Cyclonio meant. "Huh- oh, look, I'll give you two a list. J-just get the parts, then meet me back here, alright?" Cyclonio said, flying into the ship, getting a pencil and some paper, writing down a list of parts as fast as he could and giving it to Medusa. "But, where are we supposed to find the parts-"

"There's a junk shop just near the pawnshop Z used to go to, now hurry!" Cyclonio said, both Hydranian and Medusa walking away, confused. "Z, get into the ship's living quarters, have a rest," Cyclonio said, Zealon trying his best to walk up the Dead Oak's entry port so that he could enter the living quarters. "Woah, what happened to you?" Stheno asked Zealon, noticing that he looked about as dead as well... A Dead. Zealon tried not to throw up again, swallowing his vomit. "Motion sickness. I get it a lot," Zealon said, nearly throwing up again. "Riiight," Stheno said, allowing Zealon to walk past her. "Weirdo."

At the junk shop that Medusa and Hydranian were at, Medusa was trying her best to retrieve a new sparkplug, as the ship's old sparkplug had been completely destroyed by the crash. "Why?" Hydranian asked Medusa, confusing her greatly. "Why... what?" Medusa asked, still confused as to what Hydranian meant by the single word that he had said to her. "Why did you have to follow Lenathor's orders, even though we both now know you're an incredibly good person? Why didn't you step in and try and tone down the massacre of my people?" Hydranian said, trying to hold back tears as he asked Medusa why she just stood by and watched Hydranian's friends, his family, everyone he knew, get massacred by Lenathor and Stheno. Medusa tried to say something, but she couldn't, as she didn't know what to say, or how to put it. "Answer me, goddamn it! Why?!" Hydranian said, pinning Medusa up to the wall and tears streaming down from his eyes. "If you are such a good person, WHY couldn't you have saved at least my daughter?! Why not my wife? My brother? My father? Anyone!" Hydranian said, causing Medusa to realise more and more of how much of a monster she once was.

"I..." Medusa said, trying to say something, anything, to calm down Hydranian, someone who she had learnt to call a friend, her family of sorts, but failing to say nothing but that first word. Hydranian looked at Medusa, realising that she had begun to realise how awful she was prior to meeting Zealon, Terrano, Cyclonio and Hydranian. "Why, Medusa? You could have taken just me, and kept everyone else around, why was I spared from the killing? Why did Lenathor look at me, then leave?" Hydranian asked Medusa again, now not holding back any tears. At this point, Medusa was lost for words. But, despite that, Medusa tried her best to say something, anything to Hydranian. "I... Hydranian, look, we both know that I did some awful things back then. But, I promise, from the bottom of my heart, that, whatever happens, I'll never hurt anyone innocent, ever again." Medusa said, hanging her head, looking back at all the innocent she had slaughtered, all of those people, who more likely than not had a family they were fighting for during her time as the queen of the Chaos Empire.

Back at the Dead Oak, Cyclonio walked inside, looking for something, anything. That would presumably help repair the ship. "Need a hand, Cy?" Zealon asked Cyclonio, having fully recovered from his motion sickness. Strangely enough, however, Cyclonio simply nodded, not looking at Zealon. Zealon began searching for parts of the Dead Oak that may be able to replace the damaged ones, however, Zealon didn't know what he was looking for, so he ended up asking Cyclonio again, what parts he needed. "Cy, what parts do you need?" Cyclonio shrugged, confusing Zealon. "That's strange... I thought he went and surveyed the ship?" Zealon thought to himself, not thinking much of it.

Meanwhile, outside, Hydranian and Medusa walked out of the junk shop, to see an Earth Elemental, one wearing a hood, as well as having emerald-green eyes, walking up to them and bumping into them, as if on purpose. "Woah, watch where you're going!" Hydranian said, looking at the Earth Elemental angrily. The Earth Elemental turned around, giving Hydranian a death stare, sending Hydranian into a cold sweat. "You okay, Hydranian?" Medusa asked Hydranian, Hydranian trying to nod back. "Something's up with this guy..." Medusa thought to herself, looking at the Earth Elemental. "Well, I wasn't expecting only half of the Outlaws to be here. Where's the Stealthidon and the airhead?" The Earth Elemental asked the two, wanting to know the location of Zealon and Cyclonio. "What do you-" Medusa said before she was interrupted by the Earth Elemental again. "Oh wait, I don't want to know. Temperance has already infiltrated that mess you call a ship."

"What do you want, Hierophant?!" Medusa asked again, now infuriated at the fact that the Hierophant was acting incredibly cocky towards her and Hydranian. "Well, well, well, the mistress has a bit of fight in her, I see. I only want what Famine wants. You out of theirs and Kronos' way." The Hierophant said, getting ready to fight both Medusa and Hydranian. Medusa tried to petrify the Hierophant but to no avail. "I knew that you were at least going to try that at some point in our battle. Look again, mistress. These aren't eyes. These are emeralds," The Hierophant said, summoning an emerald pillar and kicking a large portion of it off, sending it towards Hydranian. Hydranian only just dodged, looking back to see the emerald pillar destroy the nearby monument of the original V, the one which had freed the elementals from the Order Empire originally.

"As you already know, my name is the Hierophant. I exist to simply transmit messages across my other elementals. I already know that I may not win this battle, but if Temperance can kill the Stealthidon, Airhead and your sister, mistress, what hope do you have of winning against The Emperor?" The Hierophant said, explaining who they were and toying with Medusa's emotions. "Damn you... We've gotta get to the Dead Oak before Temperance can kill the others!" Medusa thought to herself, realising that the Hierophant was stalling for Temperance. Medusa ran in the direction of the Dead Oak, the parts in hand, with Hydranian and the Hierophant following after her. "Don't think you can run, mistress! I have TOTAL CONTROL over everything you're walking on!" The Hierophant said, raising several emerald pillars in an attempt to hit Medusa. Hydranian tried helping Medusa by using one jet of water to give her a boost while using another to distract the Hierophant.

Meanwhile, back at the ship, Cyclonio had entered the Dead Oak in a panic, looking for spare parts that may have been in the Dead Oak so that the could fix as much damaged areas as he could. "Cy, I thought you just came in here a minute ago," Zealon said to Cyclonio, starting to get even more confused. Cyclonio, just as confused as Zealon was, looked at him. "Z, I don't know who that was that you saw, but that WASN'T ME," Cyclonio said, causing Zealon to become incredibly concerned. "Then... Who was it?" Zealon asked the person that he believed was Cyclonio, with him flying over to the files on Famine's chosen to skim through all of the elementals. "None of these guys have anything under "metamorphosis" or "shape-shifting". It could be any of them!" Cyclonio said, concerned at the fact that one of the elementals had somehow infiltrated the ship, and was hiding among the group.

Medusa kept running towards the Dead Oak, nearly making it. However, the Hierophant put up a massive emerald barrier, making it as high as possible and angling it inward, so Medusa couldn't escape. "You've really messed up this time, mistress. You're in MY domain, now." The Hierophant said, shaping the emeralds around Medusa to begin flying into her at incredibly high speeds. Medusa, still recovering from her fight with the Lovers and the Dark Wyvern a year ago, tried dodging as many of the emeralds as she could, almost all of them only scratching her, but some hitting her. "You may be fast, different to how you were when you ruled the Chaos Empire, but how long will you last?" The Hierophant said, beginning to annoy Medusa. More and more emeralds were fired at Medusa, more and more beginning to hit her, until eventually, it seemed as if she was covered in blood.

One of the two Cyclonios were inside of the real Cyclonio's quarters, trying to activate the AI module that housed Terrano's memories to see if that would help at all, for both sides. The Cyclonio attempted to power up the module, however, it wouldn't turn on. "Weird... Maybe it's just old?" The Cyclonio thought to themselves, trying to think of ways to power it up. However, before they could, Zealon and the other Cyclonio burst into the real Cyclonio's quarters. Confronting what was either the real Cyclonio or what was, more likely than not, Temperance. "What the- Z! What are you doing helping them?!" Cyclonio A, the Cyclonio that was inside of the quarters already, asked Zealon, believing Cyclonio B, the one that Zealon was helping, to be one of the elementals. "I'm helping the real Cyclonio, you idiot!" Zealon said, pointing a gun to Cyclonio A's head. Cyclonio B looked at Cyclonio A, the two not breaking eye contact.

"Are you nuts?! HE'S the fake me!" Cyclonio A said, pointing his hands towards Cyclonio B, who scoffed at the idea. "Of course he'd try that." Cyclonio B said, looking at Zealon. "Look, I've seen this happen millions of times in things I've read. We're gonna try and convince you that we're each other. I'm gonna play it smart. But believe me, Z. He's the fake." Cyclonio B said, nodding to Zealon. Cyclonio A, on the other hand, was bewildered at what Cyclonio B said. "You're serious, aren't you, Z? You're gonna believe him, one of the people we're hunting?"

"Enough already! I've made my choice!" Zealon said, causing both Cyclonio A and B to look at him. Cyclonio slowly raised his gun in the direction of Cyclonio B, causing Cyclonio A to begin to crack a smile. However, before he could, he pulled out another gun and shot both Cyclonio A and B in the shoulder, causing both to groan in pain. "What the f**k was that for?!" The real Cyclonio, Cyclonio B, asked Zealon in anger, confirming his beliefs. "Okay, I know who's who now. Give it up, whoever you are, I know you aren't Cyclonio." Zealon said to Temperance, who began laughing at the fact that Zealon shot both him and Cyclonio. "You idiot! Your plan may have worked, but you've injured your friend, as well! I might as well say it now, I am Temperance! But now? Now, you'll die writhing in agony!" Temperance said, revealing how broken he was compared to the Lovers' care for each other, and the Hierophant's calm, almost scary calculated mind.

Temperance turned into a strange, amber red goo, then disappeared into the Dead Oak's floor. "S**t! He could be anywhere on the ship!" Cyclonio, grabbing onto his shoulder as hard as he could, said to Zealon, who nodded back. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's kill us an elemental!" Zealon said, running out of Cyclonio's room to find Temperance. Cyclonio, on the other hand, tried to activate the module containing Terrano's memories, not knowing that it didn't work. However, Cyclonio realised this quickly, deciding to carefully place the module back where it was as neatly as he could. "Rest easy, buddy," Cyclonio said, speaking to Terrano through the AI module. Outside of Cyclonio's room, however, Zealon ran to Stheno, thinking that she could possibly help fight Temperance. "Stheno! We need you!"

"What now? If you think I'm just gonna magically defeat whoever it is again, I need to know who it is." Stheno said, using one of her nails to slowly cut off the pipe holding her captive. "Temperance! He's some red slime thing, he can be any of us at any time!" Zealon said, distracting Stheno from cutting the pipe.

"Get Cyclonio in here. That way I know I won't kill one of you two." Stheno said, Zealon pulling Cyclonio over to where Stheno was. "Uhh... Stheno are you cutting the pipe?" Cyclonio asked Stheno, noticing a massive gash on the pipe where her handcuffs were. "Yeah, why?" Stheno asked casually, not caring what Cyclonio, despite being the most powerful of the group in her eyes, would do to her because she tried to escape. "That... could help! We just gotta wait for him to pop his head out of that pipe," Cyclonio said, getting a gun out and preparing to shoot Temperance. Meanwhile, with Medusa and Cyclonio, Medusa was nearly killed by the Hierophant, who was preparing to talk to Medusa one final time before he finished her off. "You know, I'm disappointed. I expected a better fight from the legendary queen of the fallen Chaos Empire." The Hierophant said, lowering an emerald pillar so that he could talk to Medusa, who was writhing in pain on the ground.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me that you of all people have given up NOW, have you? We both know, BOTH OF US, know that you are stronger than this, Medusa. Think about it. If you from when you were still the queen of the Chaos Empire saw you now, what would she say? Would she be disappointed you're trying to save this poor excuse of a planet instead of destroying it? Don't tell me that you don't want that, because you know, that deep down, within your heart, you still HATE Inamorta. You just need to be broken so that you can realise what's going on-" The Hierophant said, Hydranian jumping from the top of the emerald arena and firing several icicles at the Hierophant. "You might be smart, buddy, maybe even the smartest of all of the elementals we gotta fight, but some advice? NEVER monologue unless you know you've won!" Hydranian said, utilising his full power and beginning to freeze the Hierophant's bloodstream, causing him to scream in pain and lower the emeralds. "Get to the ship, Medusa!" Hydranian said, Medusa trying to get to the ship.

Temperance began creating little explosions inside of the Dead Oak, not only trying to toy with the three inside of the ship but also wound them. "What's the matter, airhead? Couldn't you just use your lightning to electrocute me?" Temperance asked Cyclonio mockingly, knowing very well that Cyclonio couldn't use his lightning due to not being outside, and the fact that he would end up killing both Zealon and Stheno. Medusa ran as fast as she could towards the ship, not even bothering to look back at Hydranian causing as much pain to the Hierophant as possible. "I can't beat him... But... The temperatures he's freezing me to... I could survive... It'll be painful, but hopefully, my chemistry classes were right..!" The Hierophant thought to himself, allowing himself to be frozen, knowing he would only be in suspended animation, instead of dying. Hydranian kept on lowering the temperature around the Hierophant, not bothering to wonder why he wasn't resisting, until eventually, the Hierophant was stuck inside of a massive cube of ice. "He won't get out of that anytime soon," Hydranian said to himself, then running towards the Dead Oak to join the fight. "Now... I wait..." The Hierophant thought to himself before his entire body shut down until he warmed up again.

Hydranian and Medusa arrived at the Dead Oak, which had caught on fire from what Temperance was doing to the ship. "Ah, two more have joined the fray, I see! Come join your friends!" Temperance said, trying to attack Hydranian and Medusa. However, this ended up leaving him vulnerable to the one thing that he mocked Cyclonio for: Lightning. Cyclonio bolted out of the ship, flying up into the sky and zapping Temperance several times. Temperance howled in pain, then dropped dead. Cyclonio flew back down, exhausted. "That... Should do it..." Cyclonio said, passing out. However, after he passed out, Temperance got back up laughing.

"You're kidding me! You actually thought that would do something to me? Fool, I am INTANGIBLE to anything except what is me or within me!" Temperance said, causing Hydranian, Medusa and Stheno to realise that defeating Temperance would be harder than originally thought. "Oh, really? Then you won't mind me doing THIS then, will you?" Zealon said, kicking Temperance with his rocket boot, kicking it into overdrive and cutting off his foot.

"W-what-" Temperance asked before the rocket boot flew into the ground as hard as it could, eventually beginning to dig into the ground, Temperance still attached to it. "Zealon! Y-you didn't have to do that, you know!" Medusa said, realising that Zealon had cut off his foot just to defeat Temperance. Zealon let out a sigh, then looked at Medusa. "If there was one thing that I remembered from my time as an Archidon, it was that no matter what, you had to be not only stronger physically, but stronger mentally. I lost a foot, sure, I'll get a prosthetic. Let's just repair the ship and get out of here." Zealon said, the group entering the ship to repair what Temperance had done to it. Meanwhile, underground, Temperance was still being dragged into Terra's core, not being able to get back up. "Crap! I can't get back up fast enough! This thing's gonna die before it reaches magma, but still!" Temperance said, realising that he wouldn't be able to get back up to the surface until a flood happened. In a fit of rage, Temperance screamed the last words anyone would ever be able to hear. "STEALTHIDON!!!"

Chapter III: Strength Is What Fuels The Fool

Around a day later, Zealon had gotten a prosthetic foot, the Dead Oak had been fully repaired and most of the files on the elementals had been restored. "Welp, we're ready to go. Who's next?" Hydranian said, sitting down. Cyclonio flipped through the files to see what other elementals they could fight. "Oh, these ones seem REALLY easy! Test Subjects... Zero, what? And Eleven. Codenames The Fool and Strength. Seems like The Fool's an Earth Elemental and Strength's a simple fire Elemental. I knew how to fight Terrano, this should be a cakewalk!" Cyclonio said, firing up the ship and flying towards the Juggerknight mountains. However, what the group didn't know was that the Fool, believed to be just a weaker Terrano, was something much, much worse.

Around the time when Famine had just possessed the elementals, he noticed how many corpses were left behind by his rampage. "S**t... Can't have anyone seeing these... But what can I do with them?" Famine thought to themselves, then looking at the Fool. "I know," Famine thought to themselves, smirking at the Fool, who began to worry that something was about to happen to him. The Dead Oak flew towards the location of Strength and The Fool, then landing. "Of course they pick a cave..." Stheno, who had been let off of the pipe said, looking at the area where Strength and The Fool were held. When the group entered the cave, they noticed a spiral staircase leading to a massive arena had been carved out. The group walked down the staircase, then into the arena, a door closing behind them. "So... Temperance and Hierophant failed, did they? No matter... We will make sure that you don't come out of this cave." Strength, appearing in a Spearton robe, wearing a crown of leaves and a red sash said to the Outlaws. "Nope," Cyclonio said, flying in the direction of the ship. "Although... I am intrigued... Wait, what the f**k am I saying?!" Cyclonio later said, realising that he was saying things that he didn't want to say.

"I am capable of manipulating you all into doing what I want you to do. You WILL fight, otherwise, all of THESE things will kill you." Strength said, later revealing that the "audience" that would be "watching" this fight, whoever it was that the Outlaws would be fighting were, in fact, a massive amount of Twisted. "What the hell are those things?" Hydranian asked Strength, who simply shrugged in response. After, Strength went back to their grin, opening the massive gate in front of the Outlaws. A loud thud was heard, then another. This seemed to be cause for concern for Zealon, who prepared for a fight. Then, a massive roar, no, a massive grumble, was heard. Causing the rest of the Outlaws to get ready for a fight. "On the left, the Outlaws of Elementalia! Approaching the arena, a massive colossus of a thing that frankly, I had to chain up because nobody else would, The Fool!" The Fool, a mess of stickman corpses barely holding themselves together, shaped to appear as a massive, hulking stickman around the double the size of Griffon the Great, exited the arena doors as Strength announced its arrival, roaring and causing Cyclonio to look at the thing in horror. "THAT THING'S HUGE!"

The Fool lumbered towards the group, trying to crush the four with one of its massive arms, but when it realised that the Outlaws had moved away from its arm, it growled in anger. However, upon closer hearing, one could hear The Fool grumbling such things as "HELP US,", "IT HURTS,", "SAVE US," and "WE'RE IN PAIN,". All of which formed to sound like a massive growl, roar or bellow, to whoever heard it. "Do we have a plan?!" Zealon said, trying to shoot at The Fool. "The plan mostly involves not getting crushed by that thing!" Medusa said, trying to cut at The Fool's legs while not getting crushed by it. The Fool tried again, this time, raising several, massive earthen pillars to try and send the Outlaws flying.

"It's funny, Hydranian and I were fighting some super-smart earth elemental and now we're fighting some idiotic earth elemental!" Medusa said, being kicked away from underneath The Fool. Cyclonio tried knocking over The Fool with an incredibly powerful gust of air, using all of the air around the arena in one powerful blast. The attempt worked, causing The Fool to fall over and create a massive tremor in the area that it, Strength, the Outlaws and the Twisted crowd were in. "Nice one, Cy!" Zealon said, running up The Fool's body, shotgun in hand to blast out one of its main eyes. "You've got to be kidding me. Famine put me in charge of an IDIOT. Well, I might as well try and make the most of what I've got!" Strength, bothered by the fact that The Fool wasn't really doing anything to the Outlaws, thought to themself, deciding that he would try and take matters into his own hands.

Zealon continued running up The Fool, getting closer and closer to the face. However, before he could, eleven, semi-transparent red strings appeared on The Fool's hands, feet, elbows, shoulders, knees and head. The Fool got up, causing Zealon to fall off of it and have Cyclonio break his fall by catching him. "What's going on with The Fool?" Cyclonio said, Zealon shrugging in response. However, answers would have to wait, as The Fool then roared again, this time its roar being comprised of the phrases "IT'S TOO LATE FOR US!", "GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!", "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE HERE!", and "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!", becoming a major cause for concern for all of the Outlaws, even Stheno.

The Fool roared again, however this time, instead of it being an amalgamation of various different phrases, it was one, massive scream from all of the faces visible on The Fool's body. "What the hell happened to that thing?!" Cyclonio asked the group, none of them knowing what had happened. Cyclonio then looked up at Strength, who was laughing at how oblivious Cyclonio was to what he had done to The Fool. "Strength is what fuels The Fool, after all!" Strength said, mentioning a phrase that most elementals knew to the group. This caused mixed reactions among the group, both Stheno and Medusa taking it literally, realising that Strength was controlling The Fool, Zealon, confused as to what Strength meant, but knowing what was going on, Cyclonio, gritting his teeth at Strength and Hydranian taking it as a challenge, summoning more ice daggers to his aid.

"Ah, and the battle finally begins, I see!" Strength said, making The Fool kick a massive amount of dust into the arena, blinding everyone but The Fool and Strength. "How are we meant to see that thing in this fog?" Hydranian asked Zealon, who later came up with an idea as to how they could fight. "Just feel the tremors in the ground! The thing's huge, how's it gonna be stealthy here?" Zealon said before two, massive glowing red eyes appeared behind him. The Fool had picked up a piece of the arena's floor and lifted it up to its face. Zealon, realising that The Fool was directly behind him, opted to not look behind him, only blindly shooting his shotgun behind him, hoping to shoot out at least one of The Fool's eyes. The Fool threw the piece that it was holding towards an arena wall, forcing Zealon and Hydranian to have to hold on. The debris hit the wall, destroying nearly all of Zealon's guns, as well as breaking one of his arms. "HOW did we survive that?" Zealon said, clinging onto his broken arm as he looked at the guns that had been destroyed by the impact. "Not sure! Sit this out, Z, we'll take it from here!" Hydranian said, running back to join the fight against The Fool.

"Alright, I've had enough of this!" Cyclonio said, using his air to blow away the dust around him to see where The Fool was located. Once he could see where it was, he flew over to it, then trying to punch it. However, something else happened. Massive plumes of lightning shot out of his fists, while Air Elementals were capable of utilising lightning to their advantage normally, the fact that Cyclonio was able to fire this much lightning, in this closed-off of an area, confused all of the elementals in the area. "FUS RO DAH!" Cyclonio shouted jokingly, then kicking The Fool into one of the arena's walls. When he landed, he saw the Outlaws, looking at him weirdly. "What?" Cyclonio asked the four, wanting to know why they were looking at him weirdly.

"What the hell did you shout?" Medusa asked Cyclonio, turning a part of The Fool's "leg" into stone so it couldn't move. "Uhh... I... Honestly don't know, myself, let's just get back to this!" Cyclonio said, having no clue why he said what he did when he flung The Fool into the wall of the arena that they were facing. Strength, however, was becoming more and more infuriated with the fact that The Fool was proving ineffective against the Outlaws, only being able to slightly damage Zealon. "Fine! They want me to fight them?! So be it!" Strength said, grabbing a sheathed sword that was next to his throne in the arena, and changing into his battle suit, preparing to take on the Outlaws alongside his massive puppet.

Strength entered the arena, outfitted in an incredibly thin but durable armour, designed by The Star, wielding what appeared to be a katana, which glowed an unusual orange colour. Strength glared at the Outlaws, who looked at him back. "Bring it." Strength said before the Outlaws headed towards him. The Fool stomped its stone foot down, breaking the stone and causing several chunks of the arena to be sent flying. Strength used these to his advantage, jumping up and kicking the smaller chunks towards the Outlaws. "I've gotta help them somehow... But my guns are destroyed!" Zealon thought to himself, looking at the pieces of his sniper rifle, shotgun, energy pistols and his assault rifle that had been destroyed by the impact. "Unless... I can fashion something out of these pieces..." Zealon thought to himself again, walking over to the fragments and seeing what he could make out of the remains of all of his guns.

Cyclonio flew up, flinging some of the chunks at Strength. However, Strength instead cut through the chunks he couldn't dodge, baffling Cyclonio. "What the?!" Cyclonio said before Strength punched Cyclonio so hard in the chest, that it ended up creating a hole through his stomach. "Cy!" Hydranian said, summoning a series of icicles to throw at Strength. "Damn it..." Cyclonio thought to himself, passing out soon after. Strength laughed in delight, looking at the faces of terror on Hydranian, Medusa and Stheno. "Take a GOOOD long look, Outlaws! What I did to him, I'll do to you! And I will enjoy EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF IT!" Strength said, being completely aware of what he was saying. However, above the cave, something, nobody knew what it was, hit the mountain at an incredible force, causing an avalanche that would send snow inside of the arena, throwing off Strength's confidence.

"What was that?" Medusa asked Stheno and Hydranian, neither now knowing what caused the avalanche to send snow towards Strength. "Who cares?! If it's helping us, we've still got a chance!" Hydranian said, using the abundance of snow to his advantage, whipping up a snowstorm around both The Fool and Strength, which ended up somehow severing Strength's possession over The Fool. The Fool roared, its roar now being comprised of the words "I WANT TO GO HOME.", "IT'S SO COLD.", "IT'S FREEZING." and "HELP US PLEASE!" Strength, realising that there was a snowstorm around him, used his fire to his advantage, not only creating a source of heat and light for him but also clearing up some of the snow. In a fit of rage, Strength threw dozens of fireballs at Hydranian, mirroring what Bruciato, the fire elemental of the Lovers, did to Medusa.

Hydranian, however, knew exactly how to counteract Strength, sending several icicles towards Strength, not only pinning Strength up against the wall of the arena but also destroying the fireballs. "It's funny. One of your buddies did that exact thing at the lab." Hydranian said, Strength looking at Hydranian in both fear and anger. Hydranian walked closer to Strength, spitting at his feet. "I-I was only joking, Hydranian! Honest!" Strength said, beginning to take control of The Fool again. "You'll leave us be?" Hydranian said, beginning to melt the icicles. "Why, of course, I will." Strength said, preparing to pulverise Hydranian using The Fool. "If you can survive THIS!" Strength said, Hydranian realising what was happening.

However, from underneath the snow, Zealon appeared, holding a massive gun, made of all of the parts of his broken arsenal. "How about THIS, B***H?!" Zealon said, firing a bullet directly into Strength's head, killing him almost immediately as well as causing The Fool to begin falling apart, due to having nothing holding itself together anymore. As The Fool was falling apart, a collection of voices, while there were many, their collective voice was still incredibly quiet, said "THANK YOU." to the outlaws, their souls finally free to move onto the afterlife. All that was left was the real Fool, some pathetic, weak excuse of an Earth Elemental. "Please don't hurt me! Famine never possessed me! Honest!" The Fool said, convincing the Outlaws that he was alright. "I-I still remember my real name! I'll never hurt you guys ever again! Just please, spare me!"

"Shut up and get out of here, will you?" Zealon said, walking towards The Fool, the other Outlaws and Strength's lifeless corpse, still pinned to the wall by the icicles. "Thank you! Thank you-Thank you-Thank you!" The Fool said, running out of the cave. "Let's get out of here, Cy needs some rest," Zealon said, picking up Cyclonio and walking out of the cave, Stheno, Medusa and Hydranian accompanying him. When the group reached the Dead Oak, Zealon read out loud The Fool and Strength's files. "Test subjects Zero and Eleven. The Fool and Strength, respectively. The Fool is unlike any other Earth Elemental. Not even having the strength to sustain a Chompler form for long. Came to the lab seeking to amplify his strength to legendary levels. Strength, however, was an Ancient Elementalian fanatic, coming to the lab to configure his mind so that he could think like how the Ancient Elementalians did. That explains his weird clothing, then." Zealon said, closing the files and firing up the Dead Oak, flying back to Elementalia.

Chapter IV: The Sun & Moon

"Test Subjects Nineteen and Eighteen. The Sun and Moon." Zealon said, reading the files for both the Sun and Moon through his mask. "The Sun, an Infernos, has the unique power of converting anything that is around him into a thick, jelly-like plasma, capable of reaching incredible temperatures, hotter than that of even, ironically, the sun itself. The rest of his file's just chicken scratch." Zealon said, reading The Sun's file on who he was and what abilities he possessed. "Assuming the way things are headed, I estimate that the next five elementals are gonna be fire-based," Cyclonio said in a sarcastic tone, receiving mixed reactions from everyone. "Anyway, The Moon?"

"Right. The Moon is unique among the other elementals in which they were supposed to be formed into a Treature but somehow ended up retaining an Elemental's humanoid form. The Moon isn't capable of summoning Scorplings or casting a Death Blossom, however, they are capable of creating massive constructs of ice, something not seen until very recently in a select few elementals. Namely Water Elementals that seem to have undergone a massive amount of trauma. The Moon has also been noted to be growing a large amount of blue, unidentified crystals around their body. What these crystals are and what properties they possess is currently unknown." Zealon read out loud, then looking up from the file to see Hydranian looking at him. "I'm assuming you might know who The Moon is, Hy?" Zealon asked Hydranian, the latter nodding after.

"Gelida, or as you know her, The Moon, was one of the people from my village. She's my niece." Hydranian said, the other Outlaws looking at Hydranian in surprise. "B-but I thought everyone from your village died? I thought Medusa, Lenathor and I killed all of them!" Stheno said, causing Hydranian to glare at her incredibly angrily. "She left for Elementalia. Nobody knew why. She just kind of one day decided that she'd go to Elementalia. She was lucky too, that was the day before you three killed everyone in the village." Hydranian said, Medusa looking away from Hydranian, ashamed because of what she had done to Hydranian's village. "Hang on. Hydranian, are you sure you want to fight your own niece? I mean, sure, she might be under Famine's control, but she's still your niece at the end of the day." Cyclonio asked Hydranian, concerned at the fact that Hydranian was considering fighting someone related to him, and maybe even wanting to end her life.

"Cy, I'm not stupid. I'm not gonna kill her. Besides, it's not like we're fighting Terrano or something." Hydranian said, aggravating Cyclonio. "Don't bring Terrano into this! He sacrificed himself for us! Not because nobody else would, but because he knew that it was right!" Cyclonio said, irritated at what he believed was Hydranian making fun of him by involving Terrano. "Cy, you've got the wrong idea. I was pointing out that you'd probably do the same thing if we ended up having to fight Terrano. I'm sorry, I probably should have realised that before I said anything." Hydranian said, Cyclonio going back to piloting the ship. After a while, Cyclonio landed the ship at Northern Elementalia, where the once mild-climate had turned into a literal winter hellhole. Cyclonio put on a coat, while the others suited up for the worst.

Northern Elementalia, the part of Elementalia which was famous among not just the Elementals but even some runaway Chaos forces for its snow-white beaches, crystal clear waters and amazing landscapes, had been converted into a place desert of any and everything, the only things being able to survive in this new landscape being a Water Elemental, or someone that had already died. Hydranian walked out of the ship, being hit by a blizzard as soon as he stepped onto the hellish snowscape. Hydranian countered the blizzard by setting up a small snow fort so that he could see what was going on. "Ah, we meet again, Uncle!" A raspy, but young, female voice said through the blizzard, directed towards Hydranian. "So, how did you feel when all of our family were murdered by the gorgons and Lenathor?" The Moon, a Water-Earth Elemental Hybrid, covered in various blue crystals asked Hydranian, distressing him.

"You know very well that those people were family to both of us! Why are you treating it so damn lightly, Gelida?!" Hydranian said, angered at how his niece was treating the deaths of his family, as well as her family. The Moon flew up to Hydranian, then looking at him with soulless eyes. "You honestly think that we were targeted for no reason? SOMEONE had to have revealed the location to them somehow, after all!" The Moon said, beginning to grin unsettlingly at Hydranian. Hydranian, having finally realised why his niece had left for Elementalia, completely froze in horror, realising that someone he loved was willing to betray everyone they knew. "W-why would you betray all of us, Gelida?" Hydranian, in complete shock, asked The Moon in a monotonous voice. "I don't know, I thought it'd be funny to see you in complete horror, uncle." The Moon said, shocking all of the Outlaws that had been listening to Hydranian's conversation with The Moon.

Hydranian, having been completely been broken by what he had heard come from his niece, the one that he remembered as a playful, happy, kind and caring elemental, couldn't do anything at all, for the first time in his life ever since his family and friends were massacred, he didn't know what to do. The Moon, sensing another opportunity to ruin her uncle, asked mockingly: "What's the matter, uncle? Frostbite got your tongue?" Cyclonio began to clench his fists in anger, infuriated with how The Moon was toying with Hydranian. "Oh well, it doesn't matter now. Because now? Now, with your death, the Eisiglan bloodline will finally fall. So, I have one last thing to say to you, Uncle. DIE!" The Moon said, flinging the limp Hydranian into the air with a pillar of snow, then summoning several, incredibly sharp icicles, then throwing them at Hydranian. All while The Moon cackled in sheer joy at causing pain to her uncle.

"We've gotta help him!" Medusa said, the others nodding in agreement. The four lunged at the Moon in different directions, trying to knock them off course and stop Hydranian from being hurt or worse, killed. Medusa pulled out a set of throwing knives, throwing six at The Moon to try and distract her from Hydranian. Zealon followed through, pulling out a pistol, the only thing in his backpack aside from the amalgamation of weapons that had been destroyed by the fight against The Fool and Strength that wasn't damaged, and unloading every magazine that he had in his belt on The Moon. "Okay, MAYBE using all of the magazines ain't the best idea???" Zealon thought to himself, realising that he might need the pistol magazines later, maybe when The Sun showed up.

Cyclonio and Stheno, however, instead ran inside the Dead Oak to double-check the files on both The Sun and Moon. "Something's up, something HAS to be up," Cyclonio said, jumping into the pilot's seat, opening the drawer containing the files and flipping over to The Sun and Moon's files. "Why has only The Moon popped up? Where's The Sun at?" Stheno asked herself out loud, getting both of her swords out of her room in the ship, formerly the engine room. "Who knows? It is suspicious, though." Cyclonio said, thinking that Stheno was talking to him. Stheno, realising that Cyclonio was trying to talk to her, decided to try and start a conversation on how they would find The Sun. "He's probably hiding somewhere above this blizzard, can you fly both of us up?" Stheno asked Cyclonio, feeding her snakes while waiting for a response.

"You bloody well bet I can!" Cyclonio said, getting some guns out of the Dead Oak's mobile arsenal, as well as a taser. "You good to go?" Cyclonio asked Stheno, who put both of her swords in her bag. Stheno nodded, smirking after. "Yep, let's get out there!" Stheno said, Cyclonio lightly grinning in response. Stheno grabbed onto Cyclonio's hand, with Cyclonio flying out of the Dead Oak soon after. Zealon looked up, to see that Cyclonio and Stheno, who was holding onto Cyclonio, were flying up into the sky. "What the heck are they doing?" Zealon thought to himself, confused as to why Cyclonio, as well as Stheno, surprisingly enough, were flying into the sky instead of trying to stop The Moon from killing Hydranian.

Zealon put away his pistol, later pulling out a tactical knife and using his rocket boots to fly over to The Moon, in an attempt to wound her. However, eighteen, glowing orange columns which appeared to be made of superheated plasma, surrounded The Moon, shielding her from melee attacks. "What the heck?" Zealon said, flying away from the columns. "Took you long enough!" The Moon said to The Sun, who revealed herself to the Outlaws. "Hang on, The Sun's a girl?" Medusa asked Zealon, Hydranian falling to the ground next to her.

"I'm pretty sure the files said The Sun was a male! Maybe it was a typo?" Zealon said back, later looking at Hydranian. "Get him to the ship! I'll deal with these two," Zealon said, activating his mask and flying towards both The Sun and Moon while Medusa carried Hydranian into the Dead Oak so that he could be safe from The Sun and Moon. Zealon punched The Sun in the face, later making the remark: "Not so hot now, are ya, Sun?!" To try and annoy the Infernos. In response, spewed a tower of fire at Zealon, narrowly missing him. "Jeez! Talk about a hothead!" Zealon later said, trying to annoy The Sun on purpose.

"SHUT-UP-SHUT-UP-SHUT-UP-SHUT UP!" The Sun said in response, trapping Zealon in the columns of plasma, the same ones that protected The Moon. "Get em, guys!" Zealon shouted, signalling for both Cyclonio and Stheno to attack The Moon. Inside the Dead Oak, Medusa was looking at Hydranian, feeling several different things. Guilt, for being one of the people responsible for killing his family and friends, Concern, for his injuries and what he was going through before he was brought in, Happiness, as she believed that through her helping Zealon, Cyclonio and Hydranian as well as saving Elementalia from Lenathor and Stheno, she had been redeemed in Inamorta's eyes, and Empathy, for she too, had also felt pain from one of her relatives. Medusa let out a sigh before using one of her daggers to impale her right hand. "They need you out there more than me. Hopefully, this helps." Medusa said, blood dripping from her right hand into a glass, where she then mixed some of her snake's venom to create a sort of awakening potion.

"You know, you're hot, Sun. But not in that sense!" Zealon said, greatly confusing The Moon but managing to annoy The Sun to the point all they did was mindlessly throw whatever spells they had at Zealon. "What the actual f**k??? The Sun's falling for this crap? Why?" The Moon thought to herself before getting roundhouse kicked in the face by Cyclonio and hitting the ground at full force. "Throw me!" Stheno said to Cyclonio, who grabbed Stheno's leg and spun around to get some momentum going before throwing Stheno at The Moon. Stheno grabbed her swords and impaled them through The Moon's arms, causing both a tremendous amount of pain for The Moon as well as electrocuting her. "Okay... I think we got The Moon down but is Zealon really trying to beat The Sun by what is basically insulting them to death? That boy confuses me sometimes." Cyclonio thought to himself, both unsure if The Moon was down, as well as confused as to what Zealon was trying to do to defeat The Sun.

Hydranian woke up, to see that his mouth was covered with blood and snake venom, and seeing Medusa, having passed out from healing him. "Sh-she did this?" Hydranian said, realising that Medusa was responsible for his fast recovery. "Thank you, gorgon- Medusa, I mean," Hydranian said, exiting the Dead Oak and seeing what had been going on while he was out cold. What he saw, was Stheno having pinned down The Moon, his niece, with her swords, Cyclonio staring confused at what Zealon was doing, and the latter insulting an Infernos, who he deducted was The Sun. "Uhh... I'm running out of material, uhh... You... Look like a suntan gone wrong?" Zealon said, beginning to laugh at how stupid he sounded throughout the "battle".

"Will you SHUT UP for five minutes and fight?!" The Sun said, infuriated at how carelessly Zealon was handling the battle. "You're not only making me look like an idiot, but you're also making yourself look like an idiot as well!"

"Well, you see, I WOULD fight, but this is funnier. Also, on your right!" Zealon said, causing The Sun to look to her right, and cop a massive snowball from Hydranian to the back of the head, causing The Sun's physical form to disperse. "For one, I kinda found it funny, even though it was stupid! Nice talk, by the way!" Cyclonio shouted at where The Sun was before they disappeared. Hydranian walked up to The Moon, looking at her with tears in his eyes. The Moon, in horror, looked at her uncle, trying to give off the impression that she regretted everything she did to her family deep down in her heart. "Anche tu, Zio?" The Moon said to Hydranian in the native water elemental tongue. Hydranian nodded, tears still streaming from his face. "Anche tu, Bambina. Anche tu." Hydranian said, pulling out a knife. "Arrivederci, Gelida," Hydranian said, severing Gelida's spinal cord, causing her death to be harmless.

"W-wow..." Cyclonio said in complete amazement and horror, realising that Hydranian killed his own niece out of mercy. Hydranian knelt down in front of Gelida's lifeless body, closing her eyes before hanging his head in grief. "She was in pain being possessed by Famine. It was the least I could do." Hydranian said, trying not to cry. Medusa, feeling for Hydranian, hugged him. Followed by Zealon, then Cyclonio, and lastly Stheno. "Hydranian I- I am so sorry we couldn't do anything for her," Zealon said, trying his best to comfort Hydranian. Stheno, however, was beginning to realise something. "Am I... Feeling empathy for someone which I hurt? What's happening to me?" Stheno thought to herself, realising that she was beginning to warm more and more towards the Outlaws. Hydranian then stood up. "Am I allowed to pilot the ship just this once, Cy?" He then asked Cyclonio, who nodded.

Hydranian entered the cockpit of the Dead Oak, flying it further north, to a mountainous range, which had been left undisturbed by nature. He then flew over to the foot of one of the mountains before docking the ship and leaving the cockpit. "Follow me," Hydranian said, the Outlaws then following Hydranian to wherever he was taking them. The group walked up the mountain before coming across a valley which had a village which had been since long forgotten. The only thing left of the buildings being the frames as well as some burnt walls or floors. "It can't be..." Stheno whispered to herself, seeing in horror the true damage she had done to Hydranian's village. "Two years ago, my home village, the one I had been in for all of my life, was destroyed by an attack from Lenathor, Death's chosen. This is all that's left of it. It's been so long since I've last seen it." Hydranian said. Going over to one of the burnt down houses and picking up a necklace. "This was something my wife made for me. I figured that, if I came back to pick it up, not only would she be with me forever, everyone in the village would. If that makes sense." Hydranian said, putting on the necklace. "I'm good to go, let's get back to dealing with the other elementals," Hydranian said, the group going back to the Dead Oak to deal with the next elemental.

Chapter V: L'oscurità Ritorna, Prima Parte

"Hello, whoever you may be. You have unearthed a recording, left in my holding cell. Now, aside from me obviously being the strongest of the test subjects, why wouldn't The Magician, someone so quiet and collected, hide something in his holding cell? I mean, okay, no more fooling around. If you're an elemental, or from around here, you'll remember a little incident from a while back. Some giant spaceship, Elementalia was nearly destroyed etcetera, etcetera. As a result, the Elementalian force was nearly decimated by the power of the leader of that attack. We'll come back to that later. I wouldn't exactly call myself all that quiet, or collected, either. Sure, I do seem that way, but I'm really not."

"Every single hour and minute of every single day, I'm always in a form of insanity. This lab has been ruining everything with me. I was a Fire Elemental, but now? Now I don't even know what I am. Now, remember the incident I mentioned earlier. That was me. You see, they had been collecting remains from the wreck of my ship, one of which just so happened to be my corpse. They fused me with this- this THING, and then called me The Magician. I've been fighting this new body's original mind for who knows how long. I've enjoyed making him suffer. Ever since the gorgon betrayed me, I've felt at a loss. It got to the point where I just wanted to kill the other gorgon and let it be over with but I couldn't because then I'd be destroyed by Death. So, I decided upon a little plan while the fools who thought they killed me mourned over their little rock pet thing."

"I would wait things out. Hopefully, some fanatic would decide to try something with me, and then, I'd destroy EVERYTHING. If I couldn't kill either of the gorgons, then the whole of Terra would have to suffer by my hand. I didn't care who it was, if they were alive, they were going to die. I masked this under the "quiet and collected" persona while waiting for something, anything to happen. Then, that was it. Nothing more. Things went quiet. But, as you can tell, I've recorded over this. Famine, one of the weaker things, just broke everyone out. But, this also means something even better. I can personally hunt the gorgons down, then, I'm coming for the rest of those Outlaws. I've also made a sort of psychic link to this recording, so I'll know when someone's listened to it or not. So you'd better finish listening to this recording fast, Outlaws. As quickly as you can, and start running."

The Dead Oak was flying south, headed back to the Outlaws' HQ when Zealon noticed that at Valor, capital of Elementalia that had been named after Valoroso, believed to be the first V, chaos and disarray was beginning to erupt in the streets. "Cy, make a detour! It's an emergency!" Zealon said, Cyclonio immediately turning around to face Zealon. "Take us there!" Cyclonio said, Zealon piloting the Dead Oak over to the centre of Valor, where the king of the Elementals was trying to calm down the people. "Why weren't we informed of this?!" A Fire Elemental asked the king.

"Are they coming for us next?!"

"How many are left?!"

"Should we side with Famine?!"

"Are we all going to die?!" Were some more questions that were asked by the people. The king, unsure of how to calm down his people, let out a deep sigh before noticing the Outlaws walking up to him. "Please, Outlaws. Help me. The people trust you ever since you saved us from Lenathor. Just please, try to calm them down." The king asked the group, Zealon nodding in response. "I'll go up." Zealon stepped on top of the fountain wall, calling for everyone's attention. "Oh look, it's the Stealthidon. He'll know what to do." A Valor citizen said sarcastically, causing Zealon to roll his eyes behind his mask. "People of Valor, and to an extent, Elementalia," Zealon said incredibly loud, causing everyone in Voloroso to look at him, whether they were asking questions, or if they were wondering what all the racket was outside.

"By now, I am sure you have heard of a group of Elementals, much like us, who have been going around terrorising Elementalia. They follow Famine, the horseman, which represents more than just famine, but also envy, greed and guilt. These elementals represent the twenty-two major cards in the ancient Chaos card decks. As of now, seven of the twenty-two have been contained by us. These elementals are meant to invoke fear into innocent people, causing them to join their horseman. By all means, if you are afraid of these elementals, do not submit! All of you are elementals! You are by far the strongest species in Inamorta in terms of raw power! We will NOT be beaten by some pathetic horseman! A curfew will be in place, to ensure the safety of all of you. I wish all of you be safe during these times, on behalf of everyone." Zealon said, Famine slowly beginning to manifest before them.

"Oh, except I'm anything BUT pathetic, Stealthidon." Famine said, appearing before Zealon as semi-transparent amber stickman, which would end up causing the Valorosians to run into their homes in fear. "Famine!" Medusa said, the Outlaws getting ready for a fight. Famine looked at "Save your energy, Gorgon. You couldn't even dream of harming me right now." Famine said, then looking back at Zealon. "Stealthidon, or should I say, Zealon, I would like to ask YOU a question. Why do you continue to fight?" Famine asked Zealon, addressing him directly and using his real name. "Because all of us know what you want, and what Kronos wants, is wrong, in every way imaginable. It's gotten to the point where even Medusa-"

"I don't want to hear it. How about I show you something before you go spouting that nonsense around, Zealon?" Famine said, Valor, the other Outlaws and everything around him and Zealon beginning to fade away. Famine hovered to the ground, then walking up to Zealon. "You think you're the only race in the universe that's tried to stop me, the other horsemen and Kronos? If so, you'd be wrong. Thousands, millions, billions, maybe even trillions of races, much like yours and the Elementals, have tried standing up to us. They all don't realise what would happen to the universe if people like you were allowed to thrive." Famine said, the area around them then turning into the cosmos, showing a fight in space between an alien race, similar to the stickmen and elementals and the forces of one of the horsemen.

"They all believe what they're doing is right. It's happened so often, I can't help but feel bad for some of the races we have to strike down. If people like you, the elementals or stickmen are allowed to thrive, eventually, the universe will be unable to take it anymore and will die, with no warning. No matter how long it takes, you'll end up killing it all. Death, for example, much like I, simply want this universe to be in balance so that all races ARE allowed to thrive."

"But... If you want to keep it in balance and allow for every race in the universe to thrive, why are you killing all of them?" Zealon said, calling out Famine on an inconsistency.

"Simple. They got too big for their own good and were beginning to destroy other planets. They were pushing others down." Famine said, the cosmos around them fading back into the white area that they and Zealon were initially in.

"But... We haven't even gotten into space yet, so why go for us now?"

"Your planet has something that the others haven't had since we were first banished to the Abyss by Crazy Jay. The Eight Primordial Crystals. Initially, they were fragments of the two titans before Kronos. And that if their power were to be united, they would destroy Kronos and his five horsemen."

"What- There's a fifth horseman?"

"Conquest. The others have completely forgotten about him, but I haven't. He was in a sense my twin, my mirror self, my best friend. But that's aside from the point, next time you interrupt, I'll kill you right here, right now. The crystals were meant to be scattered across the universe, but they all somehow ended up here. If our goal is to succeed. Then we MUST destroy your planet. Our victory cannot be stopped, Zealon. Give in. Join us. You know it's right." Famine said, their projection beginning to slowly fade away. "I hope you make the right decision, Sharpeye." Famine said, completely disappearing and Valor beginning to come back into Zealon's vision.

"Zealon, what the hell was that?" Medusa asked Zealon, having also seen a vision of Famine talking to her and trying to persuade her to return to the side of Chaos. "You guys saw it, too?" Zealon asked, all of the Outlaws nodding in response. "Listen, I don't know if you guys think I'm the leader, but I think I speak for all of us when I say this. No matter what Famine said, the things he showed us, the reality that this universe is eventually going to die, it isn't gonna get in our way of protecting those we care about. If we couldn't save those who have fallen before we became a group, then we need to save the ones who may fall after us. The sooner that all of these elementals are done and defeated, the better. Do we all agree on that." Zealon said to the Outlaws, waiting for a response. Cyclonio let out an incredibly sarcastic laugh before saying: "OF COURSE I agree on that! We've gotten this far, why should we give in now?" Hydranian smiled, then looking at Zealon. "It's funny. You say that you don't know if we think you're the leader, but to me, that's the voice of a leader, right there."

Medusa looked at Zealon, happy that she wasn't the only one that declined Famine's offer, then nodding. The others then looked at Stheno, who was looking away from the group. "You know, if you had asked me that question when Sis and I were still working for Death, I'd probably tell you to shove that offer up your ass, then leave. But, you do have a point, especially after I found out that I was being lied to by Death." Stheno said, smirking. Confused, Zealon asked Stheno: "How were you lied to?"

"I was told that there were too many people on the planet for their own good."

"Right. Well, let's go find out where the next elemental is-" Zealon said, realising that a siren was going off at the lab, signifying that an intruder was present in the ruins. "What the?" Zealon said, looking in the direction of the lab. "There's an elemental there. But which one?" Hydranian said, also looking in the direction of the lab. Cyclonio got out the files, then looked at the ones that were ripped out. "Those sirens only go off if there's something serious down there. Maybe, just maybe. It's one of these elementals. But, my gold's on the Magician, seeing as he's the first elemental in this file." Cyclonio said, the others nodding in response. "Come on, let's move." Cyclonio then said, the Outlaws then running into the Dead Oak and flying towards the lab.

Deep in the lab, where a pile of rubble was located, a Fire Elemental, one that had been sleeping when Famine broke into the lab and took control of the Elementals, was banging on the door, which couldn't be opened due to how much rubble there was in the way. The Fire Elemental was screaming, banging on the door as hard as he could, at the same time coughing and hacking incredibly loud. "STHENO! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE TO ROT AWAY IN THIS DAMN CELL! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE! PLEASE! STHENO! ARE YOU THERE?! HELP ME!" This had been going on ever since Famine had left with the other elementals, forgetting to take this Fire Elemental. Eventually, the Fire Elemental curled up into a ball, their back leaning on the door.

"How could you do that to your own master?! I can't believe it. You're JUST LIKE THE OTHER GORGON. I HATE both of you. You're traitors to Death, the horsemen and Kronos. I miss the day that I nearly killed you SO MUCH, Medusa. When I get out, it's going to get MUCH, MUCH worse for you. I'll hunt you, that human, and the other elementals down, one by one." The Fire Elemental, The Magician, said, looking at the neverending hallway of the holding cells. The Magician then let out a sigh before looking at the roof. "Sure, just leave me rotting in this hellhole for the rest of my neverending life. I'm not a full Void Elemental anymore, but that doesn't mean that I'm not immortal anymore. I'm going to come and find you, for everything you've put me through, Medusa. I'm going to come and find you."

The Magician would then begin to laugh crazily, only just being heard from the rubble that was blocking the exit to the holding cells. It would only take a few hours for the Dead Oak to arrive at the lab and discover the Magician, having gone mad from being isolated for so long. Deep in the sixth layer of the Abyss, Death was sitting on their throne, watching Euryale search through Inamorta for the "protectors" of the primordial crystals when they realised that their connection to Lenathor, who was believed to have perished thanks to Terrano's sacrifice a year prior, was still active. "Hmm... So the Void Elemental is still alive, I see? Well, I may as well help him out of his pickle." Death said, grabbing Gigantes, a massive scythe as well as their personal weapon and turning into a blob of dark purple goo, then teleporting to the abandoned lab.

"I'm trapped... The damage from Famine's attack on the lab caused some rubble to fall on the door. Ever since. I've been losing it... More and more... I only have these STUPID recordings to keep me company. I hate it. I hate it SO MUCH! MAYBE IF THE DAMN GORGON HADN'T DECIDED TO BETRAY ME, I WOULDN'T BE IN THIS STUPID BODY, FIGHTING THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND PROBABLY ROTTING IN THIS... THIS HELLHOLE! Okay, keep yourself collected... Oh my god. Did I forget my name?" The Magician said, creating another recording then realising he forgot his real name. "Where is it?! Where'd I put the recording?! It's here somewhere! It's gotta be around here somewhere! Come on, where was it? You didn't forget where it was, did you?" The Magician said to himself again, finding the recording.

The Magician skimmed through the recording, eventually coming across the name "Lenathor". Realising this, The Magician had fallen under Lenathor's complete control. "Gave up trying to fight me now, have you?" The Magician said, putting his hand up to the Fire Elemental part of him. "Weakling. I'll admit, you did have some fight in you, but you were holding me back." Lenathor said, igniting a purple fireball, then looking at it. "However, this new body... The one that you have supplied me with... Perfectly complements my way of fighting." Lenathor said, throwing a fireball towards the end of the corridor, then hearing it explode in an uproar of screams and a purple explosion. "Now that the original host of this body is out of the way... Let's see if I can get out of this corridor." Lenathor said, creating a violet gel, to put around the rubble. Lenathor smeared it across the rubble, then walked far away from it. Lenathor then snapped his fingers, causing the gel to ignite and then explode, removing the rubble from the door.

"What the?" Zealon said, noticing a massive cloud of purple smoke in an area of the lab. "Is that an area we didn't check when we found the Lovers here?" Zealon asked the Outlaws, all of them unsure about what the answer was. Cyclonio piloted the ship to the ground, then docking it. Lenathor noticed this, hiding behind the door frame. "Right on schedule..." Lenathor said, creating more gel, this time sentient to attach itself onto the Dead Oak. "Let's see you get away when your ship is destroyed!" Lenathor said to himself, hiding in the lab's vents. The Outlaws exited the ship, unaware of the blob that had attached itself to the ship. "Three..." Lenathor said, watching the Outlaws exit the ship. "Two..." Lenathor said again, his eyes widening in anticipation and even causing his pupils beginning to become slits from the sheer amount of anticipation.

"Well, we're back here. Let's figure out what was causing this smoke and that siren to go off." Cyclonio said, exiting the ship. Lenathor suppressed the urge to laugh like a crazed hyena before saying "One!" And causing the gel to explode, completely destroying the Dead Oak. "What the?!" Zealon said, looking at what remained of the Dead Oak fly into the air from the explosion. "THE SHIP!" Cyclonio said, realising that the Dead Oak had been destroyed right in front of them. The Outlaws looked in horror, the ship beginning to vaporise. While the Outlaws were in shock, Cyclonio was hit the worst. It felt as if a part of him had been ripped out of his body and crushed. As a result, Cyclonio howled a scream of pain before breaking into tears. "Alright, that's it! Let's find this s***head and kick his skull in!" Zealon said, angry at whoever caused Cyclonio to lose it.

"Perfect..." Lenathor said, looking through a duct in the vents. "Now that the airhead's mind's been broken, now I proceed to put the OTHERS through terror. I'm gonna enjoy their suffering." Lenathor said again, crawling away from the duct.

"Every. Single. Second of it."

Chapter VI: L'oscurità Ritorna, Seconda Parte

Famine heard a loud boom, coming from the area where the lab once was. "Hm?" Famine said, sending one of their locusts to scout. What they saw was Cyclonio screaming in pain, a mass of purple fire and smoke, as well as Death, who was approaching the lab. "Wait... That's not Death's magic..." Famine said to himself, realising that The Magician may have been in the lab the whole time. "High Priestess, you know what to do. Your Hanged Men are ready, I'm assuming?" Famine said to the High Priestess, who was bowing down at Famine's "feet". "Yes, Famine. All twelve of them." The High Priestess said, the groans of what sounded like a group of Deads being heard behind her. "Very well. You already know where the lab is, go there, and find the whereabouts to Test Subject One." Famine said, The High Priestess leaving Famine's lair.

Famine then opened up a small screen, labelled "Test Subject Twenty" and looking at the screen. "Now, let's see what you're up to, tin can." Famine said, then watching what was happening through the eyes of "Test Subject Twenty" on the screen in front of him. Zealon, Medusa and Hydranian walked towards the lab while Stheno stayed behind to comfort Cyclonio. The three looked around at the lab, then noticing Bruciato's beheaded corpse, which was cradling another rotting corpse, presumably Affogata, as if in Bruciato's final moments, his beheaded body went to cradle Affogata's dead body one final time before he well and truly died. "Yikes... Seeing that is like a blast from the past, ain't it?" Medusa asked Hydranian and Zealon, who both nodded in agreement. "There's the area where the smoke's coming from. Be ready for anything in there, we don't know which of the elementals are in there." Zealon said, turning the projection of a fire elemental's face on his mask off so that he could be completely stealthy if needed.

The three entered the hallway, revealing another section of the laboratory that had previously been blocked off because of the rubble that had been present. The hallway was in horrible condition, the wires dangling from the ceiling in various areas, evident rotting on the walls, broken glass and the stench of rotting elementals permeated the area. Somehow, the screams of the scientists could still be heard coming from the halls, even after they had all been killed and then converted into The Fool's massive, powerful albeit unstable body. Zealon entered the corridor on the left, being greeted with the area where the elemental's holding cells, the things which kept them under control until they could be put under permanent control. Zealon stumbled upon Cell-00. The Fool's holding cell, presumably.

Zealon walked in, seeing that The Fool's cell was in surprisingly good condition compared to how the lab looked overall. Zealon then searched through the Fool's cell, finding nothing inside. However, as he was leaving, he noticed the bed, how normal it looked compared to the beds in the Dead Oak. Zealon hadn't had a proper sleep in what seemed like forever, so, Zealon ended up having a little nap in The Fool's holding cell. Lenathor, still inside the vents, had noticed the three enter the once hidden section of the laboratory, went to first follow Medusa, as a result of his vendetta against the gorgon. Medusa walked past the holding cells of the High Priestess, Tower and Devil before coming across the Magician's holding cell. Medusa entered, looking around the cell, as well as seeing all of the things that had been written inside of the cell as if the works of a madman.

"Don't leave me here... How could you... Why betray us... Help me... I hate you... Wait. Mine and Stheno's names are scribbled all over this cell... How does this guy know who we are?" Medusa thought to herself, reading the words that had been written all over the cell's walls and roof, bewildered as to what was going on. Medusa then noticed the tape, the one that had been recorded when the Magician first realised what he was, on the floor, slightly damaged. "A tape..." Medusa said, picking up the tape and dusting it off. Medusa then looked over to the TV that was inside the Magician's holding cell, the word "WHY?" written over it in blood, presumably the blood of one of the Elementalian scientists. Medusa inserted the tape into the TV, hearing the Magician's voice for the first time. "Hello, whoever you happen to be." The recording said, sending a chill down Medusa's spine, as it was a voice she hadn't heard in a year, a bad memory, a reminder of the past she had wanted to forget for so long. It was Lenathor's voice.

Medusa listened to the recording more, hearing the Magician, in reality, Lenathor's plan as to how he would enact his revenge on not just Medusa, but Zealon, Cyclonio, Hydranian and Stheno. However, there was one thing that caught her off guard in the recording. "So you'd better- Sorry, I've decided to, reword, my words in this recording. I know you're listening. You've fallen right into my little trap, all of you. So, to reiterate the original ending of this recording..." Lenathor in the recording said, causing Medusa to begin panicking a little. "You'd better put this back, Medusa..." Lenathor's voice said, directly talking to Medusa this time, causing her to have a mini heart attack. "How the hell did he know that I would be the one to listen to this?!" Medusa thought to herself, panicking. "As neatly as you can..." Lenathor's voice said again, a cocky tone beginning to arise in his voice.

"AND START RUNNING," Lenathor said, the TV screen later cutting to static. Medusa began sweating because of her panic, looking around the room to see if Lenathor was anywhere near her. When nobody was there, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Haha, he had me there. Though then again, the fact we're going to have to fight Lenathor... Again... We can't afford to lose another person!" Medusa said, then hearing the desk in the Magician's holding cell break, causing her to jump. When Medusa realised it was simply the desk rotting, she lowered her guard. Medusa went to exit the holding cell before noticing another tape, this one not as damaged as the other. However, this tape gave off a more... disturbing aura compared to the other tape.

Medusa put the tape in, only for the tape to simply play a simple training video for the people working in the laboratory before its destruction at the hands of Famine. "Huh! This ain't too bad." Medusa said, not concerned with the tape at all. However, she spoke too soon. The tape cut to black to show a reflection of her, as well as a mysterious figure behind her. Medusa jumped up and attempted to turn the figure into stone, but nobody was there. Confused, Medusa walked out of the cell. "Not even a greeting?" The figure behind Medusa, having actually been real all along said, causing her to scream from fright.

"Medusa?!" Zealon, Hydranian as well as Cyclonio and Stheno, who were outside the lab said at the same time, realising that Medusa, more likely than not, had encountered the enemy. Zealon ran in the direction of the scream, trying to reach Medusa before something ended up happening to her. "We're going in there!" Stheno said, drawing both of her swords and running into the area where Medusa, Zealon and Hydranian were. Cyclonio following after as well. "Damn it, Sis... You always had to be the curious one out of us and Euryale, didn't you?!" Stheno thought to herself, running as fast as she could in order to make sure that Medusa was okay.

Cyclonio, while flying towards Medusa, noticed a fairly small group of vials that had been marked under "EXPERIMENTAL". Cyclonio, curious, grabbed these vials before flying after Stheno. Zealon was the first to reach where Medusa was, seeing only her daggers. "She isn't here!" Zealon shouted, alerting everyone in the lab to check everywhere else. "Split up!" Stheno said, Cyclonio and her going different directions to find Medusa. The other four outlaws checked every area of the lab for Medusa, but nothing. Underneath the lab, however, Medusa was tied up in a chair, Lenathor preparing something in order to make her death as painful and long as possible. Lenathor didn't care about being humane in his methods of torture, he just wanted Medusa to SUFFER.

"I've waited so long to get my revenge for what you did, Gorgon," Lenathor said, filling up a needle that he had gotten from the lab with mercury, then walking up to Medusa, blindfolded and tied to a chair. "She's gotta be here somewhere!" One of the Outlaws said, running above the area where Medusa and Lenathor were. Lenathor smirked, then looked over at Medusa. "Aw, they're looking for you! Shame they'll never find you." Lenathor said, injecting the mercury into Medusa's blood. Medusa felt a sharp, stinging, burning sensation in her blood, trying not to wince from the pain. "W-what do you want?" Medusa said, trying to sense where Lenathor was. "Oh, deary me, I forgot about your snakes. Well, they won't exactly be all that much use to you now, would they? But, to answer your question..." Lenathor said, looking at his tray of tools which included a machete, a hammer, a set of knives, a syringe, a taser from one of the dead scientists and a pot of molten metal, kept hot from a heater running before grabbing the machete and walking back up to Medusa. "I want answers, Medusa," Lenathor said, picking up one of Medusa's snakes by the neck and cutting it off of Medusa with the machete, causing her to scream in pain.

"I've studied the anatomy of your kind, Medusa. You're able to get back up from a lot of pain. But all of that usually comes fast and goes. So, you wouldn't be willing to answer my questions from simple pain." Lenathor said, discarding the dead snake while walking around to the other side of Medusa. "Tell me, Medusa. Why did you choose to betray me? Your sister? Death? Kronos?" Lenathor said, grabbing the set of knives then slowly stabbing them into Medusa. "WELL?! ANSWER ME!!!" Lenathor said with his crazy side that was heard in one of the tapes that he had made beginning to show. "COME ON MEDUSA, ANSWER ME!" Lenathor said, alerting the Outlaws that someone was inside. "Is that-" Zealon said, hearing Lenathor's voice.

"It couldn't be... Not him again!" Cyclonio said, remembering what had happened last time Lenathor had butted heads with the Outlaws. Medusa, beginning to steady her breathing again after being attacked by Lenathor, said: "I'm not telling you... You won't get it out of me!" Medusa said before being hit by a hammer by Lenathor, causing a piece of her skull to fracture. "Wrong answer," Lenathor said, looking at Medusa's now bruised face. "So... THIS is how I go out." Medusa thought to herself, sure that she was going to end up dying a slow, painful death at the hands of Lenathor. "Elementalia deserves its place in the ruins along with your empire, so I could care less if you end up dying. But just know: If you don't tell me, your sister and that... human... you love so much are next." Lenathor said, giving Medusa a choice, either tell him why she decided to betray Kronos and Death or let Stheno and Zealon die.

"Go... to... Hell!" Medusa said, getting hit with the hammer again. Lenathor, unfazed by what Medusa said, Lenathor then put the hammer back on the tray, looking at the array of tools he could use to get what he wanted out of Medusa. Lenathor chose the taser before thinking of an even better idea. Above, Zealon and Stheno ran into each other, then looking at one another. "Did you find her?" Zealon asked Stheno, concerned. Stheno, also concerned, said back: "No, I couldn't find her anywhere." Lenathor took this opportunity to capture both of them by knocking out the two, then carrying them to where Medusa was. After the two awoke, they found themselves tied up as well. Lenathor removed the blindfold from Medusa's eyes, revealing her horror as she realised that Zealon and Stheno had also been captured.

"I wasn't joking when I said you had a choice, Medusa!" Lenathor said, holding both Stheno and Zealon up by their necks, petrifying her from the terror she was feeling. Meanwhile, above ground, Cyclonio and Hydranian weren't yet aware that Zealon and Stheno had also gone missing. "She isn't here!" Cyclonio shouted to Hydranian, who said: "I've checked all of this area!" in response.

"Let's get out of here so we can search the outside!" Cyclonio said, signifying for everyone who was still in the lab to go outside and search for Medusa there. Cyclonio and Hydranian met outside, but when they realised that Zealon and Stheno hadn't come out yet, they realised that whatever was down there, had also managed to capture Zealon and Stheno. "Which of the elementals are down there?" Hydranian said, asking for Cyclonio to refer to the files. "How the hell am I meant to know?! The files got destroyed when the Dead Oak exploded!" Cyclonio said, reminding Hydranian that the files were destroyed in the Dead Oak's explosion.

Back in the area where Lenathor was hiding, he was tormenting Medusa by showing her both Zealon and Stheno, grabbing both of them by the neck. "COME ON, MEDUSA! GIVE ME MY ANSWERS!" Lenathor said, strangling both Zealon and Stheno while Medusa shook her head in a panic, desperate to save both Stheno and Zealon. Lenathor continued strangling both Zealon and Stheno before he decided to throw Stheno into one of the walls, causing the wall to break from the impact. "You know, this new body? It suits me. I like it better than my old one. It's all the more fun torturing you with this instead of relying on that hammer I used to have. But that's aside from the point, I'm not finished with you JUST yet." Lenathor said, walking over to Medusa again, grinning like a madman.

"Drat, we're probably gonna have to level this whole lab just so we can have a shot at finding them!" Cyclonio said, looking at the abandoned laboratory, knowing that somewhere, the enemy had trapped Medusa, Stheno and Zealon. "What are those vials you got for?" Hydranian asked Cyclonio, noticing the mysterious vials of liquid that he had stolen from the lab. "Don't know. Do you think we should probably try them?" Cyclonio asked Hydranian, who simply shrugged at the thought, then grabbing one of the vials. "Bottom's up," Hydranian said, both he and Cyclonio drinking the vial.

It had been around an hour since Lenathor's torture had begun, Medusa's once jade green cloak, symbolising her personality when she ruled the Chaos Empire had now become a blood-red colour, as a result of how much blood she had lost as a result of Lenathor's torture. Zealon and Stheno had been chained up, to witness what was happening to Medusa, and Lenathor, having fully accepted his new identity as The Magician, walked back up to Medusa, who simply looked down at the ground at the snakes that once made up her hair, now dead due to not having a host.

Inside of Medusa's mind, however, she was having a debate with herself, over whether or not she was capable of surviving more of what Lenathor threw at her. Inside her mind, were several different variants of herself, the Real Medusa, her current self, the Medusa which wanted to fix everything and ensure a good future for all of Inamorta, the Tyrannical Medusa, the one that wanted to destroy all of Southern Inamorta and rule the rest of Inamorta with an iron fist, the Merciful Medusa, the one that wanted to enslave Southern Inamorta, leaving them to their doings, and the Vengeful Medusa, the one that wanted nothing to do with any of Inamorta, and only sought revenge against everyone that had wronged her.

"You can't get out of this without going all out, you know." The Vengeful Medusa said to the Real Medusa, who was laying down on the ground that symbolised her mind. "All of us are going to die if you don't get up and fight, we HAVE to do SOMETHING," the Merciful Medusa said, kneeling down before the Real Medusa, wanting to comfort her but knowing she couldn't. "I can't fight him. Not like this," The Real Medusa said, looking up at the red sky that formed her mind. "And why is that?" The Tyrannical Medusa asked, sitting down beside the Real Medusa, also looking up into the red sky. "I promised myself and the world that I would show mercy, no matter the cost. I can't fight him unless I show no mercy." The Real Medusa said, sitting up and looking at the various different versions of herself.

However, as she began to sit up, a fifth Medusa, one that had been buried deep within her mind, the one that she wanted to forget for so long, slowly began to materialise in front of the Real Medusa. "Then... If you CAN'T fight him and show mercy to him," The fifth Medusa said, slowly raising their face to look at the Real Medusa. This fifth Medusa was The Merciless Medusa, the one that Death, Kronos, Lenathor, Stheno, Euryale and The Dark Wyvern remembered. The one that was responsible for everything that Medusa had done prior to joining the Outlaws. "DON'T show ANY form of mercy to him." The Merciless Medusa said, looking at the five Medusas that were before her. "You know deep down, you never changed a bit. WE never changed a bit. All we ended up doing was holding back our full strength. LET HIM HAVE IT. HE deserves every bit of what's coming to him." The Merciless Medusa said, all of the Medusas in Medusa's mind merging into one. "Let's let him have it, then," Medusa said, her eyes reverting back to how they were when she ruled the Chaos Empire.

"Hmm, your cloak's gone red from all of the blood you've lost. It suits you. Honest." The Magician said, trying to toy with Medusa. Stheno tried breaking free from her chains in order to strangle The Magician. "Damn you..." Stheno thought to herself, looking at The Magician, then at Medusa, her head now completely void of any snakes. "Sis..." Stheno then thought, beginning to tear up at the fact that this had happened to her younger sister, the one that she had tried to protect for so long. The Magician then lunged at Medusa, igniting a purple fireball in his left hand "I'm going to burn you to ashes!!!" The Magician said, trying to throw a fireball at Medusa, only for her to use the strength in her legs to flip the chair, breaking her chains and setting her free.

"How about you try NOW?" Medusa said, no longer in the chair. "What?!" The Magician said, then getting sucker-punched in the face from Medusa, who appeared to be moving at the speed of sound. "Huh?!" Stheno thought to herself, realising that Medusa had broken free, and was now fighting back against The Magician. "Y-you punched me in the face!" The Magician said, both frightened and shocked that Medusa was beginning to fight back. "Yeah, and I enjoyed every second of it," Medusa said, looking at The Magician, her eyes now a deep red. The Magician floated into the air, throwing gel at Medusa in an attempt to blow her up. However, Medusa fought back by allowing pieces of the broken chair to get hit by the gel, then throwing them back at The Magician, causing him to blow himself up.

"What the- It's like Sis' personality just did a complete 180 or something!" Stheno thought to herself, looking at what was happening. Medusa jumped up towards The Magician, attempting to kick him in the face, only for her foot to then be caught by The Magician. "Gotcha!" The Magician said, not realising that Medusa was about to kick him with the other foot. The Magician got hit by Medusa's other foot, going into a wall. "Y-you... I'll get my revenge... I swear on it! After you're dead, the human and your sister are next!" The Magician said, a piece of his face breaking in half to reveal Lenathor's face, The Magician's face now being half-Fire Elemental and half-Void Elemental. The Magician trapped Medusa in gel, then detonating it, sending her back as well. "Medusa!" Stheno said, realising what had just happened.

"Ha, ha, ha... NOW you're BOTH dead." The Magician said, approaching the two with the hammer. However, as the smoke cleared, Medusa's figure became more and more visible. "That all you got?" Medusa asked, grinning crazily, her eyes beginning to become more and more red, bewildering The Magician. Medusa pulled out two daggers, then infusing both of them with venom, then rushing at The Magician. The two clashed, eventually ending with Medusa delivering a hammer kick to The Magician's back, shattering his spine and causing a tremor that Cyclonio and Hydranian felt, even above ground. "What the heck?!" Hydranian said, trying to keep his balance as he felt the tremor.

"You felt it too?" Cyclonio asked Hydranian, also feeling the tremor. "Do you reckon it's them?" Cyclonio then asked, Hydranian shrugging in response, unsure of what to make of the situation. The Magician screamed in pain from his spine being shattered but The Magician still tried to fight Medusa. The Magician threw his hammer at Medusa, the latter grabbing it, then looking at it. "Funny," Medusa said, then throwing it away from the Magician. The Magician got up, trying to take out Medusa in one massive fireball barrage, using all of the magic he had left in an attempt to destroy Medusa before she could destroy him.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE ALREADY?!" The Magician asked, then sending a massive amount of fireballs towards Medusa. Medusa ended up dodging them but didn't realise that The Magician had opened up a vortex that sent the fireballs back at him, causing some of them to hit Medusa on the way into the vortex. Several fireballs hit Medusa, causing her to fall to the ground. However, she didn't scream, wince, or grunt in pain, confusing both Stheno and The Magician. "Not bad..." Medusa said, brushing herself off, then looking at The Magician. "That just means that I can do better!" Medusa said, lunging at The Magician and stabbing him with both daggers. Because her daggers were infused with venom, The Magician's skin began burning, causing tremendous pain for him.

"Damn it-damn it-damn it! She was nearly down as well!" The Magician thought to himself, then remembering that he also, had a melee option available. The Magician tapped into the power of the void, converting his hands into black, dragon-like claws, similar to The Dark Wyvern, then flying over and attempting to fight back against Medusa. "I'LL SLICE YOU IN HALF!!!" The Magician said, cutting Medusa's left arm off, then laughing at the sight. "You're done for, Gorgon! Give it up!" The Magician said, not realising that Medusa threw almost all of her daggers at him as hard as she could, pinning him to the floor and causing him to begin bleeding out. Medusa then slowly walking up to The Magician, kneeling before him and looking down at his face. "How come YOU became this, Lenathor?" Medusa said, looking at The Magician.

When The Magician didn't answer, she lifted his head up to her face by his nostrils, causing him to try and scream from the pain. "I don't have all day, unlike you did." Medusa then said, impaling another dagger into The Magician as a just in case measure. The Magician tried to control his breathing so he could talk normally, then saying: "I-I didn't have a choice... They put me in this... THING. I didn't want this! I swear on it!" The Magician said, trying to weasel his way out of potentially getting killed by Medusa. Medusa shook her head. "Wrong answer," Medusa said, causing The Magician to begin freaking out. "You tortured me for what seemed like forever, so you'll get your end of it eventually," Medusa said, looking at The Magician with a stone-cold gaze. "Beg for your life. I did for you, so if you want to live, BEG."

"Medusa, please... This was all just some harmless thing, r-right? No hard feelings? We're clear? Please? You know you can't kill me, right?" The Magician said, obeying Medusa's order.

"I wasn't going to kill you. Before I do what I was going to do, you did study everything about Gorgons, correct?" Medusa asked The Magician, the latter nodding in concern on what was going to happen. "So you know what our favourite meal is, right?"

"C-Crawlers?" The Magician said, not remembering what Gorgons liked to eat the most.

"Wrong," Medusa said, causing The Magician to gulp in concern.

"T-then what is it?" The Magician said, turning his head to face Medusa.

"ELEMENTALS," Medusa said, going in to eat The Magician's lower arms and legs, rendering him immobile. Throughout all of this, Stheno witnessed Medusa's current personality, the one which did want to fix everything slowly die, in its place, the Medusa that she remembered. "Oh dear god... Sis..." Stheno thought to herself, concerned as to what had happened to Medusa. Above ground, Hydranian and Cyclonio heard the whole fight, including The Magician being eaten. "Holy s**t... She ATE the enemy?!" Cyclonio said, both scared and concerned about what had happened underground. "Who cares?! We found them! Let's get digging!" Hydranian said, creating a massive shovel out of ice and using it to dig up the ground.

Medusa used the daggers that previously pinned down The Magician to destroy the chains that held Zealon and Stheno in place. "Sis... What-" Stheno asked Medusa, wanting to know what on earth happened to her before being interrupted by Medusa looking at her. "Not everyone deserves mercy, Sis. You'd know that better than anyone." Medusa said in response, Stheno then picking up Zealon, who was unconscious and placing him on her shoulder. "Come on, we gotta get out of here," Stheno said, then realising that Medusa was going over to The Magician, who had passed out from the blood that he had lost. "Why are you bringing him with us?" Stheno asked Medusa as the latter placed The Magician's torso on her shoulder, trying to find a way back to the surface. However, at that moment, Hydranian's shovel burst into the area, allowing the gorgons a way out of the area they were in. Medusa then closed her eyes, sighed, then opened them again, reverting her eyes back to how they were before the fight with the Magician.

"Jeez! What happened to your cloak, Medusa?! And where are the snakes?!" Cyclonio asked Medusa, realising that her cloak was now a blood-red instead of the jade green that he remembered. "The enemy killed them all. Their blood stained my cloak this colour." Medusa said, unconcerned by the fact that her snakes had been killed. "Wait- You aren't even concerned about your snakes?" Cyclonio asked Medusa, the latter shaking her head. "They'll grow back," Medusa said, continuing to walk towards the Outlaws' base.

"Alright then... Let's just get back to the base, we've finally got an excuse to use that ship we got from the Technion." Cyclonio said before he and the other Outlaws followed Medusa, heading back to where they thought the base of the Outlaws was located.

In the Outlaws' base, Death was awaiting the arrival of Medusa and Stheno, seeing Medusa fight The Magician and completely destroy him. "This is going to be fun." Death said, concealing themselves in the shadows of the base, as to not sound any alarms in the base. Meanwhile, in the Abyss, Famine had realised that their connection with The Magician, if there even was a connection, had been completely decimated. "What the hell?" Famine said, checking on The Magician, seeing that he was alive, albeit immobilised and had passed out from the sheer amounts of blood that he had lost. "They got him..." Famine said in disbelief, realising that The Magician, one of the most powerful elementals in his arsenal, had been completely destroyed by the Outlaws.

"High Priestess?" Famine said, contacting the High Priestess, as he was preparing to give an order to her, in an attempt to try and toy with the Outlaws. "Yes, my lord? What do you need?" The High Priestess asked, hearing Famine's call. "The Outlaws are approaching their base. I can already sense that Death is there, I want you to send in Hanged Man Twelve." Famine said, causing The High Priestess' expression to freeze dead in its tracks. "Y-you want me to send in Number Twelve?!" The High Priestess asked in horror, realising how horrible of an idea it was to send in that hanged man.

"I don't want you to send them in straight-up, obviously. Control them. That Hanged Man knows the Outlaws better than any of us. If we can take them out with him, they'll be DESTROYED." Famine said, The High Priestess thinking it over, then nodding in agreement. "Very well. I'll send in Hanged Man Twelve to help out Death. Should I go in as well?" The High Priestess said, then asking Famine if she was to accompany the Hanged Man. "Go in and help them how you can, who knows what the Outlaws might try and do to the Hanged Man." Famine said, approving of The High Priestess accompanying the Hanged Man.

The High Priestess summoned the Hanged Man, then walking up to it. "Now, my dear Hanged Man, we're going to be visiting some familiar faces... Be on your best behaviour, okay?" The High Priestess said, caressing the Hanged Man's cheek, the two then exiting the Abyss, entering the Outlaws' base. "Famine sent you." Death said to The High Priestess, not bothering to look over at the High Priestess. The High Priestess nodded, looking at Death. "Perfect." Death said, holding their scythe.

"Time for the Darkness to return, then."

Chapter VII: The High Priestess & Her Hanged Man

It had been around two days since The Magician's capture and imprisonment. The Outlaws were renting rooms in a hotel in Elementalia, courtesy of the nation's government. "So tell me again why you decided to share a room with me, have Stheno have her own room and make Zealon and Medusa share a room, Ian?" Cyclonio asked Hydranian for what seemed like the billionth time now, still confused as to what Hydranian's reasoning behind his actions was. "Zealon told me something that he trusted me to keep confidential. The guy's gonna need all the help he can get with what he's trying to do. That's why he's in the same room as her." Hydranian said, not saying explicitly what Zealon said to him, but giving big enough of a hint that Cyclonio was able to figure out pretty easily what Hydranian meant. "W-wait... You don't mean to tell me-" Cyclonio said, Hydranian nodding halfway through.

"No f**king way! Why didn't he tell me?!" Cyclonio said, in complete shock as a result of this information being revealed to him. "I... I had a feeling that he did have feelings and all, but I didn't realise he actually did! Daaaaaaaaang!" Cyclonio then said before being shushed by Hydranian. "How long has he liked her for?" Cyclonio asked Hydranian, the latter shrugging. "All I know is that those two are supposed to be over at the cafe across the street right about now, I don't know if they've left or not. That's why I made you shut up, Cy. Sorry about that." Hydranian said, Cyclonio nodding to show that he understood why Hydranian acted the way he did.

"Are we even sure that they're gonna even come back to this place?" The High Priestess asked Death, who was still eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Outlaws. "Yep." As it had been three days since The High Priestess, Hanged Man and Death had been given time to prepare, they had grown incredibly bored because of how long they were waiting. The Hanged Man looked at the Outlaws' base, seeing various photos of the Outlaws together, along with a photo of the original group, causing a sense of sadness to hit the Hanged Man, who teared up a little at the sight. The High Priestess whacked The Hanged Man across the back of the head, causing him to drop the photo and walk away from the area.

Stheno, meanwhile, was busy in the Elementalian prison that The Magician was locked up in, meaning to get some answers out of a familiar face who knew about Famine and the other elementals. "I'm here to see The Magician. Official Outlaw Business." Stheno said, the prison guards directing Stheno to an elevator, which led to the Magician's prison cell. Stheno walked up to the door, one of the guards then opening it. "Oh, hello." The Magician said, now wearing a mask, as well as a restraint to hold his torso down. "Come in, come in. I'm not going anywhere." The Magician said, Stheno entering the room. "But, it is GOOD to see you. I guess." The Magician said, holding one of his arm stumps out for a handshake. Stheno declined the handshake. "Fair enough, I wouldn't want to handshake me either." The Magician said. "Friendliness aside, what do you want?"

"Answers. Answers that Sis decided not to get out of you." Stheno said, pulling out a chair and sitting before The Magician's torso. "Where's the rest of the elementals? The files we had were destroyed by that explosion you made." Stheno said, looking at The Magician dead in the eyes, noticing that The Magician smiled at hearing that he was responsible for destroying the records of the other elementals that had been controlled by Famine. "You REALLY want to know?" The Magician said, looking at Stheno. "I can't tell you where The Emperor, Empress, Star or The World are, BUT, I can tell you about the ones that I know." The Magician then said, Stheno's expression not changing a bit. "The Devil, and DEATH, the elemental, not our master, they're over at Mount Nucleo." While The Magician was saying all of this, Stheno was writing down the locations of all of the elementals that were mentioned, specifically labelling that the whereabouts of The Emperor, Empress, Star and The World were unknown. "Continue," Stheno said, looking at The Magician.

"The Hermit's a wanderer, you'll find him by pure chance. Famine thought he was useless. The last two I know are The High Priestess and The Hanged Man. You'll want to watch out for them." The Magician said, trying not to laugh. Stheno, confused, stood up. "Why should we watch out for those two?" Stheno then asked, trying to stop The Magician from laughing. "You'll know why when you find out who The Hanged Man REALLY is, Stheno." The Magician said, causing Stheno to pull out her sword in anger. "You know you can't kill me, right?" The Magician said, his laughter stopping. "I don't even know IF I can be killed anymore. Maybe you can kill me, but you're gonna risk dying as well. Don't you remember what happened to the Outlaws' pet when I died the first time?" The Magician said, causing Stheno to stand down. "Who do you think is going to volunteer to kill me?"

"There are people out there who would for the greater good."

"Sorry, let me reword that: Who do you think would volunteer to kill me and have their friends and family ALLOW them to just throw their lives away to end my life?" The Magician said, indirectly bringing up the fact that the only reason he even died in the first place was that Terrano had managed to only just convince Cyclonio to let him sacrifice himself. "And how do you think they'll feel if it turns out their sacrifice was all for nothing, and that I'm STILL alive?" The Magician then said again, completely shutting down Stheno's intentions to kill him. Stheno got up, put her sword away and walked out of The Magician's cell. "What's the matter? Not going to-" The Magician tried to say again, only for him to be tased by Stheno. Stheno, not in the mood for what The Magician had to say, then walked away, only saying one thing: "I might not be able to kill you, but I can bloody well make you shut up." Then walking out of the cell and closing the door on her way out.

"Okay, you know what, I'm going back to the base. It's been THREE DAYS. Zealon can go do his thing with Medusa, but I'm gonna go get Stheno and see if she wants to go back to the base as well. You wanna come, Ian?" Cyclonio said, grabbing his bag and preparing to exit the hotel. "I may as well. Let's go find Stheno and get back to the base." Hydranian said, also grabbing his bag. The two exited the hotel to see Medusa and Zealon enjoying themselves at the cafe, having a good laugh and getting to know each other a little bit more. "Wow... This seems like it's going well... Is this actually gonna work out for him?" Cyclonio thought to himself before he and Hydranian went over to the prison to find Stheno. The two found her outside of the prison, sheathing her sword and muttering to herself. "F**king dumbass, 'Who do you think is going to volunteer to kill me?' SOMEONE, SOMEONE will." Stheno muttered to herself, angry over what The Magician had said.

"Stheno, you alright?" Cyclonio asked, hearing Stheno mutter to herself as well as knowing that she was angry at something that had happened. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. The Magician's just p**sing me off is all." Stheno said, reassuring Cyclonio that she was perfectly fine and that she was only angry over something that had happened. "Alright, well, Ian and I are going over to the base to go get the new ship, you wanna come?" Cyclonio asked, Stheno thinking over the offer in her head. She then shrugged, deciding to follow the two to the base. The three walked in the direction of the base, until a mountain, where the base was hidden, could be seen. Cyclonio opened up the gate to the base, to see it just the way he had left it when they left to fight The Lovers. "It feels GREAT being back here!" Cyclonio said, flying over to the ping pong table.

"Huh, so THIS is their base," Stheno said to herself, looking around at the base of the Outlaws, seeing the collection of photos of the original members of the group. "What do you mean 'their' base? It's also your base, now. You're one of us now." Hydranian said, holding his hand out for a handshake and smiling at Stheno. Stheno chuckled a little, then shaking Hydranian's hand in approval. "Thanks, Hydranian," Stheno said, smiling back. Meanwhile, Cyclonio noticed that one of the photos had been knocked over, leading him to believe that the enemy was in the base. "I know you're here, there's no point in hiding," Cyclonio said, causing The High Priestess to reveal herself. "Famine sent you, I'm guessing?"

"You're quite the observant one, aren't you?" The High Priestess asked, realising that the only reason that any of the Outlaws knew that she was here was because of one of the photos having been knocked over. "Well, it doesn't matter all that much. You were dead the minute you entered the base." The High Priestess said before The Hanged Man, a masked, tall, bulky thing, grabbed Hydranian and lifted him into the air and Death materialised from the ground as a black goo, scythe in hand. "Long time no see, mistress," Stheno said, unsheathing both of her swords and looking at Death. "It's been a while, Stheno." Death said, both Stheno and them bowing in respect to each other. "The High Priestess, second in command to the Emperor and messenger of Famine. That is all I will say." The High Priestess said, introducing herself. "Now, die."

The High Priestess fired a beam of light at Cyclonio, with him only just dodging it. Cyclonio kicked The High Priestess out of the base, as to not destroy it. Hydranian attempted to weaken The Hanged Man's grip on him but failed. "Damn it... This guy's got a steel grip! Not even that's good enough to compare with..!" Hydranian thought to himself, looking at The Hanged Man's mask. Stheno evaded Death's attack, then jumping on top of the scythe and kicking Death in the face. "Get those two out of the base!" Cyclonio said, using a strong gust of air to push The High Priestess further away from the base. Stheno noticed Hydranian struggling, deciding to ignore Death to help out Hydranian. Stheno cut off The Hanged Man's hands, breaking Hydranian free. But somehow, the Hanged Man's hands still gripped onto Hydranian's neck. Hydranian used an ice hammer to knock both Death and The Hanged Man out of the base, then passing out from lack of oxygen. "S**t!" Stheno thought to herself, trying to get The Hanged Man's hands off of Hydranian's neck.

Cyclonio kicked The High Priestess in the face, then realising that he now had to deal with three enemies. One a high ranking Chosen to Famine, one a servant of that chosen and one being the literal embodiment of the death of everything. "You've got to be f**king kidding me," Cyclonio said to himself, trying to think up of a strategy on the spot while he defended himself from the three. "Stheno now would be a PERFECT time to help me out!" Cyclonio said, only just dodging Death's scythe. Stheno managed to get The Hanged Man's hands off of Hydranian's neck, causing him to regain consciousness. "On my way!" Stheno said, running towards The High Priestess, both of her swords out and ready to kill someone.

Stheno ran up to The High Priestess, attempting to cut her down, only for a skeletal hand to grab the blade of the sword she was using, somehow immune to the electrical current given off by the swords. A familiar face showed itself to Stheno. "Hello, SISTER!" Euryale, the oldest of the gorgon sisters said to Stheno, revealing her skeletal face. Euryale punched Stheno in the face, sending her flying. "Euryale's here too?!" Stheno thought to herself, realising that Death had called Euryale to assist them in this fight. "Lovely, we've got an EXTRA person to deal with now!" She then thought to herself again, having her cybernetic snakes propel her towards Euryale, in an attempt to ram her into the ground.

Cyclonio let Hydranian deal with The High Priestess, instead opting to fight The Hanged Man. "So, it's a brain vs brawn battle this time, eh, buddy?" Cyclonio said, trying to crack a joke. However, Cyclonio got an unusual feeling from The Hanged Man, feeling a sense of familiarity and uneasiness when he faced The Hanged Man. "What's with this guy? He hasn't budged at all!" Cyclonio thought to himself, looking at The Hanged Man. While nobody could see it, The Hanged Man also felt this same aura looking at Cyclonio. "Hnnnrgh..?" The Hanged Man said, looking at Cyclonio. "Oh, FORGET IT!" Cyclonio said, lunging at The Hanged Man and attempting to attack him.

"So, you're Gelida's uncle?" The High Priestess said, melting one of Hydranian's icicle bullets and then looking at Hydranian, who was running towards her. "You don't have ANY right to use her name, Priestess!" Hydranian said, forming two ice gauntlets and trying to punch The High Priestess. "Well, you two seem to fight really similar to one another. Maybe the tactics from the sparring match will work against you as well!" The High Priestess said, mentioning that she had sparred against The Moon before, believing that the tactics that she had used against The Moon would also work against Hydranian. "Listen, I don't know HOW you think that I'm just like my niece, but you are completely wrong!" Hydranian said, switching the gauntlets into a massive hammer, trying to figure out how he could take out The High Priestess.

The Hanged Man attempted to punch Cyclonio in the face, however, for some odd reason, Cyclonio felt as if The Hanged Man was holding back against him. Confused, Cyclonio asked: "What's wrong? Do you think I'm not strong enough for you?" Cyclonio said, trying to annoy The Hanged Man so that he'd end up going all out against him. The Hanged Man just grumbled at Cyclonio, then deciding to convert into a Chompler and attempt to fight him that way. "Weird, but I'll take it!" Cyclonio said, flying towards The Hanged Man. The Hanged Man sent two branches flying towards Cyclonio, similar to tentacles, baffling Cyclonio, as he had seen that fighting style before. "What the?" Cyclonio said, then getting impaled in the shoulder by one of the branches.

The Hanged Man pulled Cyclonio closer to him, then reverting to his stickman form, their gaze unknown, as they had been wearing a mask the whole time. The High Priestess momentarily blinded Hydranian so that she could take control of The Hanged Man, beginning to choke Cyclonio. "One down... Two to go!" The High Priestess said, believing that Cyclonio had been taken out. In a last-ditch attempt to get out of The Hanged Man's grip, Cyclonio attempted using the air around him to force his leg upwards, kicking The Hanged Man in the face. However, the result that came out of Cyclonio doing this was much, much different.

Because of the air that Cyclonio had used to move his leg, The Hanged Man's mask loosened before finally being knocked off by Cyclonio's kick. When Hydranian was no longer blinded, he realised who The Hanged Man really was. "You're joking," Hydranian said, looking at The Hanged Man, now unmasked and their true identity revealed. "Wait, it's HIM?" Stheno said in shock, finding out who The Hanged Man really was. Cyclonio, however, had by far the worst reaction of the three. "No... It can't be... HOW?!" Cyclonio said, looking at The Hanged Man's face. "TERRANO?!" Cyclonio said in complete horror, frozen from realising that Terrano, who he thought died a year prior, was alive all along.

"I- I don't believe it... Terrano's alive?" Cyclonio thought to himself, trying to process what had just unfolded before his eyes. "Terrano... it's me... please... Stop this..." Cyclonio said, trying to get to Terrano in an attempt to get him to let go of his neck. The High Priestess laughed, looking at Cyclonio. "You ACTUAL FOOL. You can't get to him! He's under MY control now! Either you kill him, or he kills you. MAKE A CHOICE, AIRHEAD." The High Priestess said, calling Cyclonio the nickname that all of the elementals had for him. Cyclonio, sick of not being able to choose anymore, glared at The High Priestess. "That's where you're wrong... Priestess!" Cyclonio said, using all of the air around him to force apart Terrano's arms. "We're getting Terrano back, no matter what happens!" Cyclonio said, moving away from Terrano.

The High Priestess cackled, believing that she had finally met a worthy opponent. "Very well then! The Hanged Man, or as Cyclonio wishes you be named... Terrano, destroy him!" The High Priestess said, Terrano then regenerating his arms and preparing to fight Cyclonio. "Forgive me for this, buddy..." Cyclonio thought to himself, pulling out a pistol. "This is ALL I'll need to defeat you, Priestess!" Cyclonio said, The High Priestess laughed in response, then taking control of Terrano and running towards Cyclonio. Cyclonio flew into the air, shooting at Terrano's legs in an attempt to cripple him. Terrano turned into his Chompler form, attempting to grab Cyclonio with his arms. Cyclonio decided to fight back by flying towards Terrano, using several strong gusts of wind to break off segments of his arms like twigs against a hurricane.

Once Cyclonio got close enough, he roundhouse-kicked Terrano in the face, causing him to roll over and lose his balance. The High Priestess felt this damage through a bruise appearing on her face, as well as a bit of blood. The High Priestess momentarily freeing Terrano of her control to blind Cyclonio and allow Terrano an attack on him. However, as if by a miracle, the soul of Terrano, held off his body from harming Cyclonio. "Cy, get up!" Terrano's soul said to Cyclonio, causing him to realise that the real Terrano was now helping fend off The High Priestess. "What?! You mean to tell me-" The High Priestess said, realising that Terrano's true self had split from his body to aid Cyclonio. "Yep. And I'm tired of being a puppet, Priestess." Terrano said, Cyclonio regaining his sight and both him and Terrano running towards Terrano's body and The High Priestess.

Cyclonio went for Terrano's body, while the Real Terrano went for The High Priestess. The Real Terrano stomped on the ground, sending several pillars of earth towards The High Priestess, flinging her into the air. Cyclonio shot The High Priestess several times, trying to weaken her hold on Terrano's body. Meanwhile, he ended up getting into deadlock against Terrano's body as a result of the two trying to hit each other. "Cy! Don't hold back!" The Real Terrano said, Cyclonio nodding in response. Cyclonio shot Terrano's legs several times, causing his left leg to become useless. The High Priestess countered this by converting Terrano into a Chompler, which ended up regenerating that leg.

"Right... Chomplers can regenerate themselves really fast... But countering it is super simple!" Cyclonio thought to himself, then grabbing out the pistol and shooting the gold off of Terrano's back. "What?!" The High Priestess said, realising what was going on. "Chomplers rely on the gold on their back to heal themselves, Priestess! Don't you remember school?!" Cyclonio said, continuing to shoot off the gold. Terrano attempted to counter this by guarding the gold, but Cyclonio simply used a powerful gust of air to move Terrano's hands away from the gold. "No, no, NO! STOP IT, YOU AIRHEAD!" The High Priestess said again, realising that she was losing. "There's gotta be something... ANYTHING, that I could do here! Wait... That's it!"

The High Priestess, in a last act of desperation, dropped control over Terrano, and instead opted to take control of Cyclonio. She succeeded, laughing to herself and making Cyclonio hover over to her. "I've won!" The High Priestess said, looking Cyclonio dead in the eyes. "You FOOL, you do realise what I CAN do to you, now that I've got you under my control?" The High Priestess said, making Cyclonio shake his head. "While I can have my puppets do my bidding, I can also dispose of them, as needed. So guess what I'm gonna do to you-" The High Priestess said before she realised that something was wrong. Something had grabbed ahold of her, and WASN'T letting go.

"W-wait a minute... No... HE TRICKED ME!" The High Priestess thought to herself, realising that Cyclonio had allowed himself to be possessed so that Terrano would be freed. Cyclonio used the last of his energy to laugh at The High Priestess, then uttering three words. "Whatever it takes..." Cyclonio said, then allowing for The High Priestess to realise what had happened. Terrano, having full control over his body again, grabbed The High Priestess' neck as hard as he could, keeping one hand free. "You stole my body... Now, I'll never make sure you can never hurt ANYONE, EVER AGAIN." Terrano said, shaking The High Priestess like a ragdoll, severing her connection to Cyclonio, then throwing her into the air, allowing for Cyclonio to ram her into the ground and him to uppercut her, breaking her neck.

Death and Euryale noticed this, realising that without The High Priestess OR The Hanged Man, they were severely overwhelmed. "Let's get out of here," Death said, converting both themselves and Euryale into black goo, then seeping into the ground and into the Abyss. Hydranian's vision returned and Stheno looked at Terrano. Cyclonio flew towards Terrano, hugging him as tightly as he could. "Whoa- hey! Cy, it's alright! I'm okay! I'm alive!" Terrano said, hugging Cyclonio back. Cyclonio, still ecstatic from Terrano's return, said to him: "No, no it's not! Don't you ever scare me, or the others like that ever again, damn it!" Cyclonio said, tears of joy in his eyes.

Stheno let out a sigh, realising that Cyclonio managed to get Terrano back. "You know, I never saw Cy's friendship with Terrano, but I get why he's so happy to see him back. I'm happy for him." Stheno said to Hydranian, who had walked over to her to see what was going on. Hydranian, while he was happy that Cyclonio had reunited with Terrano, felt a sense of sadness, looking at the two. Hydranian let out a sigh, then looking at Stheno. "It's alright, Hydranian. She might be gone, but she's always watching over you. We're all here for you. Always." Stheno said, comforting Hydranian, knowing exactly why he seemed upset looking at the reunion.

Cyclonio and Terrano walked over to Hydranian and Stheno, who were both smiling at the two. "Terrano," Hydranian said, nodding to him. "Hydranian," Terrano said in response, smiling at Hydranian. "So, you're on our side now?" Terrano asked Stheno, respecting the fact that she was now one of the Outlaws. Stheno nodded in response, deciding not to respond to Terrano. "Where's Medusa and-" Terrano asked before Cyclonio whispered to him why Zealon and Medusa were missing from the group. "Wait, really-" Terrano said again, being interrupted by Hydranian nodding. "You're joking, right-" Stheno shushed Terrano, shaking her head. Terrano's expression changed to a surprised one, causing Cyclonio, Hydranian and Stheno to laugh. "WHAT the hell did I miss out on?!"

"Don't worry buddy, we'll catch you up to speed when we go to pick them up."

Chapter VIII: The Wandering Hermit

Cyclonio, Hydranian, Stheno and now the newly-revived Terrano entered the ship they had stolen from the Technion a year prior, familiarising themselves with the new ship. "Wait, what happened to the prison console?" Terrano asked Cyclonio, realising that they were in a proper ship instead of the console they had stolen from the prison they were locked in. "Blown up by Lenathor. Turns out, neither of you ended up dying from you trying to kill him." Stheno said, entering the engine room of the ship. "I'll just make sure everything's in working order over in the engine room. Actually, you know what, I might as well be the mechanic of the team at this point, seeing as I'm always in the engine room." Stheno said, checking every part of the engine.

"Uhh, Stheno, you don't have to-" Cyclonio said, trying to say to Stheno that she didn't have to always be in the engine room no matter what before being interrupted by Stheno, who said: "Cy, it's fine. I'm actually learning to enjoy this a bit." Hydranian looked at Terrano, who simply shrugged, not knowing what on earth had happened while he was gone. Cyclonio fired up the ship, flying towards the hotel they were staying at temporarily. When they arrived, they saw Zealon and Medusa, still talking at the cafe. "Odin's Spear, how long have you two been talking for?" Cyclonio asked Zealon, causing Medusa to laugh, as both of them hadn't realised that they had been talking for so long. "Wait, is that-" Zealon asked, realising that to him, an Earth Elemental that looked an AWFUL LOT like Terrano was exiting the new ship. "Yes, it's him, Z," Cyclonio said, causing both Medusa and Zealon to realise that Terrano had been alive the whole time.

Meanwhile, in the Abyss, Famine had summoned Elementalian Test Subject Seven, The Hermit, a short, weak elemental with the numbers: "0-9" branded on their right shoulder. "Listen, Hermit. I'm not calling you here because I'm confident that you ARE going to kill the Outlaws, but, I do trust that you will be able to at the very least stall for the others. The Outlaws have control over The Hanged Man again. If you can beat them, that's even better. But, between you and me, as much as I doubt that you will be able to defeat the Outlaws, I have absolute faith in you that you will be able to cause as much trouble for them as possible. No matter which elemental it may be, you're all great in your own ways." Famine said to The Hermit, pointing out that it was likely that he would end up losing, but having faith in him nonetheless, believing that he would be able to wreak as much havoc on them as possible.

The Hermit exited the Abyss, arriving at a field located in Elementalia. "I won't be able to beat them?" The Hermit said to himself, thinking about what Famine said. "I won't be able to beat THEM?!" The Hermit said again, beginning to get more and more infuriated at what Famine said, not bothering to check the positive in what was said to him. "What the HELL is that meant to mean?! Is this because I was on the same level as that Judgement kid when you found us?" The Hermit said, Famine hearing all of this and feeling incredibly confused as to what was going on. "Damn it... Fine, I'll deal with the Outlaws, but I am going to SHOW YOU that I'm NOTHING like that Judgement kid, I WILL SHOW YOU, DAMN IT!" The Hermit said, then surveying the area around him.

"I wasn't even given anything to work with..." The Hermit thought to himself, realising that he had literally nothing to use to fight the Outlaws. "And I don't even know what powers I have..." The Hermit then thought, also realising that like Judgement, he didn't have any powers. "S**t, so how the hell am I meant to get their attention?" The breeze in the field that The Hermit was located in was calm, the skies blue and the air fresh. It appeared as if it had been left undisturbed by the elementals, and that The Hermit was the first elemental in this area in a long time. The field was filled with various different flowers, of varying colours, shapes and sizes. Strangely enough, even for someone as angry as The Hermit, he felt a relaxing feeling being in the area. The Outlaws flew over this field, as if by fate, and noticed The Hermit down below.

"Who's that down there?" Zealon asked the others, pointing out a figure that was standing in the field below them. Cyclonio switched the ship to autopilot to see what Zealon was talking about, seeing The Hermit looking around the field, then noticing "0-9" branded on his right shoulder. "Hang on just a minute... Stheno, isn't card seven in that Chaos Empire thing you and Medusa know The Hermit or something?" Cyclonio asked Stheno, bringing up the major arcana of the Chaos Cards. "Cy, that's a nine. Seven's The Chariot. Nine's The Hermit. But yeah, that's The Hermit." Stheno said, pointing out Cyclonio's mistake in the cards, as well as confirming that the person in the field was The Hermit.

"Well, seven's The Chariot, huh- HANG ON A MINUTE THAT'S THE HERMIT!" Cyclonio said, returning to the cockpit and flying the ship towards The Hermit. Cyclonio docked the ship, the Outlaws gearing up for whatever was going to happen. Terrano was the first to exit the ship, followed by Cyclonio, then Hydranian, then Stheno, Medusa and Zealon. The Hermit looked at the Outlaws, taking a moment to realise who they were. "Wait... Those are the Outlaws! Now's my chance to prove myself!" The Hermit thought to themself, then running towards the Outlaws, in an attempt to take them down.

Zealon, not taking any chances, decided to fire his minigun at The Hermit, but because The Hermit was basically a normal elemental, he couldn't do anything to stop the bullets, killing him instantly, as well as staining some of the flowers in the field a blood-red as a result of the violence. "You just HAD to use that, didn't you?" Terrano said, smiling at Zealon. Zealon decided not to say anything, only slightly laughing at what Terrano said. The Outlaws returned back to the ship, despite Terrano's question directed at Zealon, slightly disappointed with how easy the fight was.

The group flew back to the base, then deciding to have a little rest. Zealon, however, was instead working on something. Medusa, curious as to what Zealon was doing, decided to knock on his door so that she could see what he was working on. In Zealon's room, he heard a knock, slightly startling him. "Oh! Uh- Come in!" Zealon said, looking at the door to see who it was. Medusa opened up the door, to see Zealon working on what seemed like designs for more masks despite the fact he already had a mask for himself. "Medusa, can you just stand still for a moment? Doing something." Zealon said, getting out a tape measure and getting different measurements of Medusa's head. "Cool, thanks."

"Z, what are you doing?" Medusa asked, wanting to know why there were designs for different masks on Zealon's desk as well as why measurements of her head were taken. "Making masks for everyone. All of us except for me having our faces out, kinda gives away who we are, in my opinion. So, I'm making everyone masks." Zealon said, pulling out a pile of designs he had come up with for Medusa's mask. Medusa confused as to why they now needed masks despite all of Elementalia knowing who they were, decided to ask Zealon: "But all of Elementalia knows us, what's the point?"

"It's for our enemies. Sure, they might recognise your snake hair and all, but mask designs twelve to twenty-five all cover that issue, for both you AND Stheno." Zealon said, showing Medusa all of the designs that covered up Medusa and Stheno's snakes. "Exactly HOW many of these designs did you make?" Medusa asked, concerned at the fact that there were at least twenty-five mask designs, for only one of the Outlaws. "Ninety-seven and counting. And that's not throwing into account the designs for Terrano, Hydranian OR Cy." Zealon said, Medusa's expression frozen, whether in horror, amazement or something entirely different being unknown. "Oh, and I even came up with codenames for all of us!"

"Do I want to know what the codenames are?" Medusa asked, unsure of whether or not she wanted to hear the nicknames that had been made. "Well, I can say the codenames I got for the others if you want."

"Oh, who am I kidding, go ahead," Medusa said, not caring whether or not the codenames were bad or not.

"Alright! Cy's codename, this came to me REALLY easily, is Surge, Terrano, maybe Phantom? For Hydranian, Arctic. Stheno, however, I've got a few. Seeing as she's kind of a cyborg now-"

"A few what?" Stheno asked, entering Zealon's room. She then walked up to Zealon's desk, looking at a list of names that Zealon had come up with for her. "Chimera... Spectre... Vampire... Nightmare... Ooh, Spectre sounds cool, call me that when we're fighting someone from now on." Stheno said, noticing one nickname that stuck out to her, and deciding that she'd go with that. "So... What nickname did you come up with for yourself, then, Zealon?" Medusa asked, wondering if he'd stick with the Stealthidon nickname, or if he had ended up making a new nickname for himself. "Wraith. That's all I'm gonna say-my codename's Wraith."

"Wraith... Huh." Medusa said, mildly surprised at the fact that in her opinion, Zealon's codename somewhat fit him and still referenced his old codename. "A-anyway, I'm gonna go over to Cy, see you, Zealon!" Medusa said, walking out of Zealon's room, not realising that Zealon was smiling to himself, for reasons unknown to her. In the field that The Hermit had been gunned down in, however, The Hermit was still alive, albeit bleeding out incredibly slowly, his death inevitable. "I'll kill them... I'll kill them all... I'll show him... I'LL SHOW THEM ALL!" These were The Hermit's final thoughts before his death, not thinking of anything else, The Hermit's desire to prove everyone wrong allowing him to survive past death for around an hour before finally perishing.

"So, Cy, what are you working on- Wait, what are you doing here Stheno?" Medusa asked Cyclonio, then asking Stheno why she was also in the hangar. "Cyclonio wants me to help out on the ship. I was against it, might I add-"

"No, you weren't! You volunteered!" Cyclonio said, offering another side of the story as to why Stheno was helping him.

"I only volunteered because Terrano didn't want to help!"

"Terrano is helping, you pushed him out of the way to help me for some reason!"

"Some reason? Terrano's trying to figure out what's what again!"

"What the hell do you mean by that?!"

"The guy was dead for like a year! He's basically an amnesiac!"

"Fair enough!"

"Good to know that we agree on that!" Stheno said, Medusa slowly backing away from the hangar to let the two have their play fight. "Those two really are starting to become pretty good friends, huh?" Terrano said, holding a box of ship parts. Medusa shrugged, unsure of how to feel. "Kind of reminds me of my friendship with Cy, it's cool." Terrano then said, walking into the hangar with the box of parts. Around an hour had passed since the group had returned to their base. The group had gathered into the main room, to watch Cyclonio face off against Terrano in a game of table tennis again, the first game against Terrano in a while. However, for some odd reason, Zealon had entered the hangar and began damaging the ship, confusing everyone in the room. "Z! Stop it!" Cyclonio said, running over to Zealon before he could end up completely dismantling the ship.

Cyclonio tried to stand in Zealon's way, only for him to end up moving to another section of the ship to take that apart. It was only when Stheno and Terrano pulled Zealon away that he stopped taking apart the ship. "My god, you took out the sparkplug?" Cyclonio said, realising that the sparkplug had been taken out of its slot in the ship's engine. "Thank Odin that this sparkplug's a screw-in. If it wasn't, you'd- What the-" Cyclonio said, screwing the sparkplug back into place before seeing that Stheno had also drastically changed, for some odd reason beginning to a bunch of things she otherwise wouldn't due to her being on more of the evil spectrum compared to the other outlaws. "Is Stheno... Volunteering to help everyone???" Medusa asked the others, being incredibly confused as to what her older sister was doing. "Sis, what the hell are you doing?"

"A deed that must be done mustn't go unnoticed, Sis!" Stheno said, having the most angelic expression on her face. Medusa, bewildered, kept on thinking to herself: "What the f**k... What the f**k..." Terrano held Zealon by the collar, lifting him up. Zealon attempted to fight by trying to claw at him and kick him in the torso but to no avail. "Something's up with these two, did anyone do anything at all to either of them? AT ALL?" Hydranian asked Cyclonio, Medusa and Terrano, the four being the only ones unaffected by whatever was happening. "No clue."

A groan, one which sounded like the groan of a recently deceased person, was then heard. The four that hadn't been affected by whatever was happening yet then burst out of the base, seeing where the noise was coming from, but not seeing anything at all. "What the hell?" Medusa said, realising that out of nowhere, someone, somewhere near the base, groaned in pain. But yet there was nobody to be found. "What's going on???" Terrano said, beginning to become more and more confused as to what was going on. But then, everyone, except for Terrano, began to feel more and more tired. "Damn... it..." Cyclonio said, falling asleep. Hydranian tried to say something but simply ended up passing out. "Not now..." Medusa tried to say before also passing out. Terrano, while he couldn't feel it, due to now technically being a zombie, ended up passing out as well.

Famine, realising that all of the Outlaws had fallen asleep, had gone to see what on earth had caused this to happen to them. But, on his way, they also realised that everyone else in Valor and Elementalia had also fallen asleep. "What the hell..." Famine said to themselves, looking at what had happened. Famine then continued heading towards the Outlaws' base, only to see that even the livestock had fallen asleep from this strange event. Famine kept thinking to themselves, "What the hell caused THIS?", "Was it one of the elementals?" and "This wasn't in any of their files. What was it then?" Famine then flew to the base, inspecting every area of the base to see if anything had been placed or activated to trigger this event. "Nothing..." Famine said, then flying all over Elementalia to see if there was anything at all that may have triggered it.

Then, Famine came across a large pool of blood in an open field, but there was nobody to be found. "Wait... Isn't this..." Famine said to themself, then realising that a figure, appearing as if they were cloaked in shadows, even in the light, appeared before Famine, looking at them. "Wh- who are you and what did you do to Elementalia?!" Famine asked the figure, however, it appeared as if the figure didn't hear Famine, only walking away from them slowly, as if limping. Famine got a closer look at the figure, then noticing several bullet holes in its body, healing themselves at an incredibly rapid rate. The figure then grabbed an arm, one it had been missing, then re-attached it as if it was intended to come off and be put back together. When the figure turned to re-attach its arm, however, through the figure's shadowy body, Famine could make out something.

The numbers "0-9" and "1-3" branded on its right and left shoulders, specifically.

Terrano, Cyclonio, Hydranian and Medusa all woke up, having fallen asleep for around three hours. "Ugh... What the hell was that..?" Cyclonio asked the others, looking around to see that Medusa was waking up. "Terrano! Here, let me help you out," Cyclonio said, running over to Terrano and holding out his hand so that he could help him up to his feet. "Thanks, Ian, but I'm Medusa, how did you get both of us confused?" Medusa, for some odd reason in Terrano's body, said to Cyclonio, confusing Cyclonio greatly. "I'm not Ian, it's me, Cy!" Cyclonio said, causing Medusa to become incredibly confused as well. Then, Medusa slowly but gradually began to realise what might have happened. "Hang on. Cy, you don't mean to tell me..."

"Oh dear god... Did... Did everyone's souls get transferred with one another?" Cyclonio said, slowly beginning to realise what happened as a result of everyone falling asleep. "I think that might have actually been what happened," Medusa responded with, looking at both her's and Cyclonio's bodies, whose body they were in, unknown. Zealon woke up, realising that he felt like himself again. However, he had awoken in Cyclonio's body. Causing confusion not only for himself but also for Cyclonio and Medusa, who had also woken up. "Wait... Exactly how far apart does somebody have to be from another person for their minds to be swapped?" Medusa asked Cyclonio, the latter shrugging in response, having no clue at all as to how the ability of this mysterious foe worked.

The shadowy figure ended up walking past the outlaws, leading them to believe that it was the one which was causing this entire mess. Medusa reached for her daggers, only to remember that she was in Terrano's body. "Drat. Wait, Cy, use Ian's water powers!" Medusa said, then realising that Cyclonio, even if he still had access to his powers, could use Hydranian's powers either way. "How the hell does he use them?!" Cyclonio said, trying to find out if Hydranian used his powers the same way that he did, or if it was something entirely different. However, unknown to them, Hydranian had actually woken up in Medusa's body and had joined the fight. "Just believe you can use my powers, Cy!" Hydranian shouted, throwing several daggers at the figure.

"That sounds REALLY cheesy, Ian!" Zealon said, grabbing Cyclonio's pistol and shooting the figure. The bullets were simply assimilated into the figure, then dissolving in the thing's flesh. "What the hell?" Medusa realising what was happening to the bullets. "Looks like I'm up, then!" Medusa said, making Terrano's body punch the figure in the back of the head, causing them to fall over. "Wow, that actually worked?" Medusa said, realising that her attack, while simple and done on an impulse, had done some form of damage. However, this realisation would be short-lived, as the figure simply got back up, and continued wandering Elementalia. Medusa tried punching it again, only for what seemed like a spirit, to grab Terrano's arm. Medusa took a closer look at the spirit, then realising that it was her own. "W-what?" Medusa said before the spirit threw Terrano's body away from the figure.

Terrano in Stheno's body then burst out of the base, seeing what his spirit did through his eyes. "Medusa, that was NOT me!" Terrano said, then grabbing Stheno's sword to fight the figure. But, mysteriously, the figure had vanished, having instead begun walking towards Valor. Everyone then regrouped, carrying Zealon's body, which they believed would hold Stheno's soul within it, in the base's hangar. "What the hell was that all about? One minute, everyone falls asleep, next thing I know, I'm in Stheno's body. Who the hell was that shadowy figure, anyway?" Terrano said, looking at Stheno's prosthetic mechanical arm. Everyone in the room shrugged, then looked at Zealon's limp body. "Do you think Stheno might actually be in my body, guys?" Zealon said, everyone else wondering the same thing. "We don't know. We weren't expecting Ian to end up in Medusa's body."

However, as if on command, the person inside Zealon's body began to wake up. "S**t! Z, where'd you put the masks?" Medusa asked Zealon, wondering if he had made ANY of the masks that he had designed for the outlaws. In a panic, Zealon said: "I haven't made any of them yet! Just... Think of something!" then throwing the finalised mask designs to their respective owners. Zealon's body then awoke, seeing the Outlaws in masks. "Why the F**K do I wake up to see you guys having paper on your faces?" Stheno asked, unamused with what she had woken up to. The rest of the group breathed a sigh of relief, realising that the range of the soul swap wasn't as large as they initially had thought.

"No time to explain, Stheno. Z, these mask designs are actually somewhat cool, how long do you think it'll take for you to make them?" Cyclonio asked, wondering how long it would take for the masks to be finished.

"It'll only take a few hours at most. I'll get to work now!" Zealon said, running to his room to begin creating the new masks for the Outlaws. Around two hours passed before Zealon came out with the masks. "It's a bit confusing now, but put the masks on the bodies you're in now, so that way we don't have to switch later on," Zealon said, then seeing Medusa put on Terrano's mask, Cyclonio put on Hydranian's mask, and so on. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to Valor to see what else is going on." Cyclonio said, the group entering the ship and flying towards Valor. "Z, when did you get the idea to make these masks?" Medusa asked, wanting to know when exactly the mask idea had popped into his head.

"About a week ago, before all of the stuff with the elementals started happening. Stheno, though, was a last-minute add on."

"You REALLY should have made these earlier! These feel awesome!" Terrano said, feeling the details of his mask and looking at the HUD.

The ship docked at Valor, to see the entire city in disarray from what the figure had done to Elementalia. "Torrentio, I'm scared!" one of the citizens of Valor said, clinging onto an earth elemental next to them, presumably the elemental that Torrentio's soul was within. "It's alright, whatever's happening, it should be over soon."

"To the king." All of the outlaws said at the same time, running towards the Royal Palace to see if they could get the Elemental King to calm down the people of Elementalia. However, when they got to the throne, they saw the king acting like a toddler. "What the f**k... This is the king?" Terrano thought to himself, not remembering the Elementalian King being this childish. The king was mimicking the sounds of an Air Elemental using their lightning powers before a small toddler walked up to the Outlaws. "Oh, thank Odin you're here." The toddler said, the king apparently having ended up in the toddler's body. "I was playing with my boy, and then next thing I know, I'm in his body, and he's in my body! What the hell's going on?" The king asked the outlaws, evidently confused as to why he had ended up in his son's body.

"I wouldn't know, my lord. But, we're here to calm down the people." Cyclonio said, the king looking at him in response.

"We'll try to help out, but for the meantime, I'd suggest putting a curfew in place, so that the people can calm down," Zealon said, the king nodding in response.

"Alright, wait, what the hell am I meant to call all of you? I never really got the chance to figure out your whole nickname thing. Unless you don't have that?"

"Oh, well, I can explain. From left to right, it's Wraith, Spectre, Phantom, Arctic and Toxin. Mine's Surge." Zealon said in response.

"I thought Zealon's nickname was the Stealthidon?"

"Who the hell's gonna remember that?"

"Fair enough, I'll call a curfew immediately. Once this drama's been settled, or if I'm back in my normal body, I'll call off the curfew. Who knows which body The Magician ended up in because of this whole thing." The king said, preparing to call a curfew for the people of Elementalia, while the outlaws exited the palace, and entered the ship once again. The ship took off, flying high in the sky above Inamorta. "Okay, now we gotta search for that figure again-" Medusa said before a massive black laser beam with a purple outline was fired at the ship, causing it to spiral out of control. "NOT THIS AGAIN!" Hydranian said, clinging onto a part of the new ship.

"This is EXACTLY like what the Dark Wyvern did last time we were flying up here, and I hate that it's EXACTLY like what the Dark Wyvern did last time we were flying up here!" Zealon said, trying to regain control of the ship, which was headed west, once again. Stheno, unfazed by what was happening, decided to walk to the engine room of the ship, and look at the control panel to see that the front-left wing had been damaged from the blast. Stheno let out a sigh, then pressing a button on the panel to allow a temporary set of wings to replace the damaged set until they landed. "There, the ship's fixed," Stheno said, the rest of the Outlaws looking at her, surprised that she was able to fix the ship that easily. "Wow," Cyclonio said, looking at Stheno. Zealon landed the ship, with Medusa recognising exactly where they were.

"WHY do we keep ending up at Chromania of all the places?" Medusa said, exiting the ship. However, something different greeted the Outlaws this time. The Magician, in the body of a V, one that he himself had forcefully created, was outside of the ship, eagerly waiting for the Outlaws to exit the ship. "Did you MISS me, Outlaws?" The Magician said, his psychotic appearance even showing through the V's blank expression. The Outlaws, concerned at the fact that The Magician had managed to obtain what all the elementals believed was the ultimate life form in Inamorta. "Not at all, sourpuss," Stheno said, confusing the Magician as to why Zealon had made a remark that Stheno would make. "So, you also got affected by The Hermit." The Magician said, putting the two and two together on why Zealon made a Stheno-style remark.

"Make your point, Lenathor. You aren't here to talk, I'm assuming?" Medusa said, her body's eyes, despite the fact that Hydranian's soul was inside of it and that they couldn't be seen through the mask, beginning to turn red, the same red they were when Medusa first fought The Magician. "Correct, Medusa. I see you've also accepted that red cloak that I gave you back at the lab? You're not gonna bother trying to make it green?"

"Let's just get this over with, we have an elemental to stop and we don't have time to deal with you," Hydranian said, The Magician still believing that Medusa wasn't affected by the Hermit's power.

The Magician cackled wildly, before firing a pitch-black bolt of lightning from his fingertips at Zealon, who only just managed to counter by firing another bolt of lightning in an attempt to disperse the energy. Zealon then pulled out Cyclonio's gun, using it to shoot at The Magician. Medusa attempted running up one of the ruined Chromanian towers, then trying to punch The Magician into the massive truck that Cyclonio had used to crush Pestilence one year prior. The Magician's "sixth sense", as a result of being fused into a V, allowed him to be able to sense Medusa trying to punch him into the truck, as a result, The Magician effortlessly dodged the punch.

"Try this, Hanged Man!" The Magician said, throwing Medusa into the ground so hard that it created a massive crater as well as an earthquake that could even be felt underground. Terrano had gotten out Stheno's electrified sword, attempting to slice open The Magician. However, much like what had happened with Medusa, The Magician effortlessly dodged the attack. "This is child's play! I wanted a REAL fight, Outlaws!" The Magician said, realising that he was too powerful as a V, but decided to turn this realisation into a taunt so that he could possibly force the Outlaws into making a dumb decision.

Hydranian tried throwing some of Medusa's knives at The Magician, amazingly, some of them managed to hit, somehow being under the "radar" of The Magician's sixth sense. "How the hell-" The Magician said before only just dodging Medusa's second attempt at punching the Magician into the truck. "Exactly how many times are you going to try that-" The Magician asked Medusa, but not realising that Stheno had hammer-kicked him directly in the head, causing The Magician to slam into the truck. "Is that the truck that I dropped on Pestilence and Flamagane?" Cyclonio said in awe, realising that they had ended up at the same area where they had first started fighting the Elementals.

"Pretty sure it is!" Zealon said, causing Cyclonio to laugh upon realising this. However, something bizarre began to happen, the Outlaws began to see the souls of one another, then seeing them return to their original bodies. "Huh?" Zealon said upon realising that he was back in his body. "Well, I was starting to get used to Cy's body, but this will do JUST fine!" Zealon said, pulling out two guns and activating his rocket boots. The Magician, however, was a different case. Because his current form was the fusion of four souls, his original body ended up fusing into the V that The Magician was a part of, creating something, terrifyingly new to any Elemental. A fusion of Water, Earth, Fire, Air and the Void.

This new form was capable of shaping its physical to whatever it wanted, deciding to take the form of a shadowy version of V. "Wow... This power... It's incredible! It's so incredible, It feels like as if I could break out laughing right here, right now! This is truly the greatest feeling in Inamorta! I AM THE GOD OF THIS WORLD!" The Magician said, talking about how great it felt to be in what he believed to be this new, perfect form to take control over Terra, as well as slowly but gradually beginning to lose himself. "You've gotta be kidding me..." Medusa said, realising what had happened to The Magician. The Magician, whether it be out of vengeance or as a random pick, decided to try and impale Medusa using only his arm. "FAREWELL, GORGON!" The Magician said, readying his fist.

"Not today, Lenathor!" Zealon thought to himself, standing in front of Medusa and tanking the hit.

*Crunch*

The Magician's arm went completely through Zealon's abdomen, causing all of the Outlaws to look in horror at what had happened. "Z!" Cyclonio said, looking at what had happened.

"No!" Hydranian said in disbelief, seeing The Magician's grin as he impaled Zealon.

"W-what?!" Terrano said in shock, seeing Zealon's face, clearly in pain from what had happened.

"Oh dear god..." Stheno said in horror, realising what had happened to Zealon, and what this meant for Medusa and The Magician.

The Magician lifted Zealon up, his arm still through his abdomen, blood was pouring out of Zealon's body due to the damage. The Magician threw Zealon aside, then laughing maniacally at what he had caused for the Outlaws. "NO!" Medusa screamed in pain, running towards Zealon and then holding him in her arms. "Zealon... Why did you do that?" Medusa asked Zealon, who was somehow still conscious. Zealon looked up at Medusa. "Simple, Medusa..." Zealon said, coughing up blood as he spoke, clearly showing that even talking was causing him pain. "A leader's... Gotta look out for his crew..." Zealon smiled at Medusa, trying to at the very least cheer her up before he ended up either passing out or dying. "You know what, I'm probably not gonna get the chance to tell you this after the fight, so I'll say it now..."

"W-what is it, Zealon?" Medusa asked Zealon, placing her hand on his abdomen, knowing that while it wouldn't stop the bleeding, it would at the very least comfort Zealon. "I... love you..." Zealon said, passing out soon after. Hydranian, hearing this, looked at Medusa, the latter looking back at him. Hydranian nodded, confirming what Zealon said was true. Medusa, looking at Zealon's lifeless body, silently cried to herself. "Unbelievable... I'm mourning over one of the very people that I fought against prior to all of this happening..." Medusa thought to herself, then hanging her head and laying motionless, holding Zealon's body as the last drop of blood bled out of his abdomen. "It seems like a lost hope now, Zealon, but please... Come back..." Medusa thought to herself, denying to herself that Zealon had passed on.

"W-what do we do now?" Cyclonio said, his mind having been thrown off course as a result of Zealon and Medusa being forced out of the fight by The Magician. "Make that a**hole pay!" Terrano said, jumping up and trapping the Magician with two giant hands made of earth. Terrano prepared to punch The Magician in the head, however, The Magician had turned the hands into constructs of sand, which ended up causing the hands to fall apart at the seams. The Magician then tapped into the element of the Void, creating a miniature black-hole to round up all of the Outlaws into one place. All of the outlaws, except for Medusa, who was still broken over what had happened to Zealon.

"STAY!" The Magician said, his vocabulary only being reduced to a few words. "I WIN! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" What had happened to The Magician ended up scaring even Stheno, who was unsure of what to think of The Magician's sudden personality flip. "DIE, OUTLAWS!" The Magician said, flying towards all of the outlaws, ready to kill them all in one, massive black hole that would also rip apart Terra. "Medusa. Hey, Medusa..." A voice said to Medusa, causing her to look up from mourning Zealon. "Up here," The voice said again, revealing itself to be Zealon's spirit. "If this is how it's gotta be, I'd rather you go on living for me, than you end up dying with regrets in your heart. I don't know what that means, but, the point I'm trying to make is, I want you to live. For all of us." Zealon said, a hole in the clouds beginning to open and sunlight beginning to shine down on his lifeless body.

"I-Is this Zealon's soul?" Medusa thought to herself, unsure of whether or not what she was seeing was real, or a figment of her mind trying to come to terms with what had happened to Zealon. "Goodbye, Medusa. Just remember. I'm always with you. No matter what." Zealon's soul said before flying into the heavens. Medusa, looking up at the sky, wiped away her tears, then setting Zealon's body to the ground. "Alright, Zealon. Let's get this over with." Medusa said, pulling out her daggers and infusing them with a highly concentrated variant of her snake's venom. The Magician cackled maniacally, however, this would end up temporarily closing off The Magician's "sixth sense", allowing Medusa to jump and stab him at full force, infusing all the venom that was in the daggers into the Magician's body, greatly weakening him.

"IT HURTS! IT HURTS!" The Magician said, feeling the venom all over his body while screaming those two words over again.

"Good! It's meant to!" Medusa said, then seeing Cyclonio electrocute The Magician using all of his power into one, highly potent bolt of lightning. Terrano followed through, trapping The Magician in a massive earthen container, then lining the entire inside of the sphere with spikes, similar to an Iron Maiden torture chamber. Hydranian then froze The Magician before slamming him into the ground, leaving him momentarily paralysed. "Go for it, Stheno!" Hydranian said, allowing Stheno to impale The Magician in the back of the neck with her electrified sword, completely paralysing him from the neck down. "That's for the stickman, you elemental maniac!"

Terrano, as if on instinct, threw The Magician into the air, causing Cyclonio to begin firing lightning directly at The Magician. Hydranian, feeling as if an idea was coming on, decided to join in, blasting The Magician with massive amounts of water. "What the hell are you guys doing?" Stheno asked Cyclonio and Hydranian, confused as to what they were attempting to do. "A V's made up of all four types of elemental, maybe we can overpower it using our elemental powers!" Cyclonio said before Terrano joined in by applying massive amounts of pressure on The Magician using two earthen pillars. Medusa, however, felt something sparking inside of her, something that allowed her to somehow blast a massive beam of fire at The Magician, puzzling everyone. "How the hell- That's all four elements! We got him!" Cyclonio said, his, Terrano's, Hydranian's and Medusa's attacks combining into one, bright white sphere before exploding, ripping apart the V-Void Hybrid that The Magician had become and reverting The Magician back into the torso he was before.

"Damn it..." The Magician said, looking at the five Outlaws in front of him. Hydranian, giving him a blank expression, disgusted with him. Terrano, staring at him with dead eyes, ready to rip him to shreds once again. Stheno, staring at The Magician with fire in her eyes, for what had happened to Zealon and Medusa. Cyclonio, his expression being hidden by his mask, but clear that he wanted The Magician dead, and lastly, Medusa, whose mask appeared as if it was crying, however, out of all of the Outlaws, The Magician knew that she wanted him dead the most. Stheno grabbed The Magician by the neck as hard as she could, lifting him up then squeezing his neck. "You are SO lucky that we can't kill you, Lenathor. I know for a fact that almost all, if not all of us want you DEAD. I hope you're happy with what you've done." Stheno said, throwing The Magician into the air and hitting him with her sword, sending him flying across the continent Chromania was on.

The Outlaws headed towards the ship once again, however, Medusa was carrying Zealon's body, which had been covered up with her cloak. Medusa didn't break eye contact with Zealon's body, trying to hide the fact that she had been greatly hurt by his passing. Medusa placed Zealon's body in the medical ward, then walking out and sitting down outside, putting her hands to her face then silently sobbing. Cyclonio, who understood Medusa's pain, sat next to her, Stheno then sitting on the other side of Medusa, not being able to bear seeing her sister this distraught. "I know you feel, Medusa. It's alright." Cyclonio said, both him and Stheno hugging Medusa in an attempt to comfort her. Cyclonio let out a sigh, looking down at the ground of the ship, then saying: "Odin's Spear, this is just like what happened when we all thought Terrano died..."

"Sis," Stheno said, wanting to say something to Medusa in an attempt to cheer her up.

"No, it's alright, Stheno," Medusa said, looking at Stheno, her face having been ruined from mourning Zealon's passing. "H-he'll come back, right? H-he always does!" Medusa said, smiling in denial, causing concern for both Cyclonio and Stheno, who knew exactly what was going on. "Oh dear god..." Stheno thought to herself, then seeing Cyclonio go over to the ship's cockpit to return to the base, evidently trying to hide his pain from the others. Cyclonio fired up the engines, then flying towards Elementalia. When the Outlaws got to the base, Medusa prepared to say something to the others. "I'm no longer Toxin, from here on, I'm Wraith. For Zealon." Medusa said to the others, all of them understanding why Medusa chose to do this.

Terrano decided to get the broken AI module that he once inhabited from his room, a thing to remember Zealon by, and placed it at the door of Zealon's room. Cyclonio followed through by placing one of the ping pong paddles at the door. Hydranian placed down a photo of all of the Outlaws, with Zealon in the centre of the photo. Stheno, not having anything to place down, instead opted to say a small prayer to herself, one which hoped that the soul would pass on to the afterlife safe and sound. Medusa, finally, placed Zealon's original mask, the one that he first wore when he was the Stealthidon, at the door, in the centre of the entire makeshift memorial. "The minute I'm back, he's already gone..." Terrano said to himself, thinking about how when he returned, one of his friends had to die.

"It's alright, Terrano. He'll be with us always now." Hydranian said, then whispering "Always." to himself, acknowledging that he too, had lost people that he held dear to him. "He was the one who proved to all of us that maybe, maybe the Orderians aren't as bad as we remember anymore," Cyclonio said, remembering that before the Outlaws had become a fully established team, he had pushed Zealon aside as some stowaway that was to be thrown out as fast as possible. This would go on for some time, until the Outlaws had finished grieving for their fallen comrade, someone they had learnt to know as their brother-in-arms, their ally, but most importantly, their friend.

It was nighttime, while most of the Outlaws, while still hurt over Zealon's unforeseen passing, had returned to their normal routines, Medusa, was still distraught with what had happened. Medusa had been clearing out Zealon's room until she had stumbled across a tape, one labelled: "For Someone Special" with a heart next to it. Medusa, realising that this was intended for her, decided to take the tape to her room, and play it. The tape started off with Zealon adjusting the camera, then sitting at his chair. "Hey, Medusa!" Zealon said, Medusa's eyes widening upon seeing Zealon on the tape. "I-uh, wanted to make a little recording in case you know, something ended up happening to me and all."

"Look, I know that what happened to me ended up messing with you all, but, it was the only way that all of you guys would end up being perfectly fine and nobody else ended up dying. I'm... really, sorry for what I ended up doing. I, hope you can understand why I did that." Zealon in the recording said, causing Medusa to smile a little.

"I do," Medusa whispered to the recording, knowing that Zealon couldn't hear her, but choosing to whisper to the recording regardless. "Another thing, I wanted to tell the others this, but, I wanted to tell you, in case you do end up seeing them. I have some friends over at Inamorta, their names are Hatheon, Taconia, Alinion, Cedarion and Cherry. I want you to get my bow, and return it to them, I don't know if they'll understand, but chances are they'll be able to put the two and two together. Tell them I said sorry. Please." Zealon said, mentioning the people that he had known during his time on Inamorta, and wanting Medusa to transmit a message to them. "I would say more, but me being the idiot I am, I forgot to charge the camera. So, I'll say it again, if I didn't already say it to you. I love you. Don't be sad I'm gone, Medusa. I'll always be with you now. I'll see you soon, Rose." Zealon said, revealing a nickname that he had come up with for Medusa, the recording had ended soon after this was said.

Hydranian was once again outside the door of Zealon's room, looking at Medusa. "He did mean to tell you all of this, you know."

"But... I saw a way out of there-"

"Lenathor's part Void elemental. He would have opened up a black hole to make you move towards him. Z did what he could to stop you from dying." Hydranian said, trying to hide his tears from Medusa, evidently still hurt as well by Zealon's passing. "Damn it... The kid was like my son, this just makes things horrible for me." Hydranian said, finally letting his tears pour down his face. However, the mourning would have to wait, as mysteriously, Medusa began to notice that her arms were becoming more and more serpentine-like. Medusa, confused, ran to Stheno, believing that she would know what was going on. "Stheno!"

"It's not a growth thing- Whaaat the?" Stheno said, reading a magazine named "Elementalia Today" then looking at Medusa, who had become even more snake-like. "What the hell's this? And why isn't it happening to me?" Stheno asked, confused as to what on earth was happening to her sister, then wondering why it wasn't happening to her. However, Cyclonio burst into the room, having been turned into a state halfway between elemental and halfway between what seemed like a fog. "What the hell's going on?!" Cyclonio said, panicking over what was happening to him. Hydranian, realising that whatever was happening was also affecting Cyclonio, decided to look at his hands, seeing that he was slowly turning into ice more and more.

Terrano, confused as to what on earth was going on, looked at his hands, realising that nothing was happening to him. "Weird, nothing's happening to me OR Stheno," Terrano said, realising that nothing was happening to Stheno either, Cyclonio then realising what might be causing it. "Wait. Terrano, you're basically a soul inhabiting a dead shell, and Stheno's more robot than gorgon now, whatever it is, chances are, it's only affecting living beings." Cyclonio said, then signalling that the Outlaws enter the ship to see what was happening in Valor. "I can't drive. Terrano, you're up."

"I've been alive for a DAY, Cy."

"Oh, I'll drive. I can't STAND this conversation." Stheno said, walking towards the hangar and entering the ship. "You, get in this thing. I don't want steam in the windows." Stheno said to Cyclonio, then shoving him in a glass ornamental jar. "Ow- hey! I'm not completely steam yet!"

"Better safe than sorry!"

"Ian, help me out here!"

"Sorry, Cy. We've already lost enough people. It's for the better." Hydranian said, being crammed into a freezer so that he wouldn't melt away. Stheno fired up the ship, placing Cyclonio at the front of the cockpit, then flying towards Inamorta.

Stheno flew around Inamorta, then spotting the Hermit's dead body, still roaming Inamorta. "How the hell did he get from Elementalia to Inamorta?" Stheno thought to herself, then seeing that The Hermit's body now seemed different from how she remembered it when he passed by the Outlaw base. Now, he looked more like how a hermit from the Chaos empire would appear, albeit still retaining the shadowy appearance. The Hermit now wore a long, tattered cloak, held a lantern in his left hand, which mysteriously enough, emitted darkness instead of light, and seemed to be emitting a dying light from his left eye, the one which Zealon had shot with his minigun in his shooting spree. "Jeez... Talk about a makeover..."

Stheno then realised that The Hermit was headed towards the Order Citadel, then trying to figure out why they were headed towards Order Citadel. "Hang on a minute. Anybody got a clue as to why Hermit's headed towards Order?"

"Maybe he's getting revenge for that time we were all held prisoner?"

"Wait, no. Think about his powers. That's not The Hermit, that's his corpse carrying out his final will. Assuming his corpse's ability is to both swap souls, as well as what looks like evolve any form of life at an incredibly rapid pace around him..."

"Oh dear god, he's gonna kill all of Order."

"Don't let that happen!" Medusa said, slowly turning more and more into a snake. "Z's from Order! We gotta finish the Hermit off for him!" All of the Outlaws, remembering that Zealon was Orderian, rushed to the Hermit as soon as Stheno landed the ship. "Someone evacuate the city!" Hydranian shouted, with Terrano deciding to go and warn the Orderian king of the approaching Hermit. One of Gemini's clones, having been asleep in one of the taller trees in Order Citadel, saw Terrano and the Outlaws, as well as The Hermit fast approaching. "What's going on?" The Gemini clone asked Terrano, not realising who he was.

"Evacuate the city, that shadowy thing that's fast approaching is gonna end up killing EVERYONE if we don't do anything about it," Terrano said, then feeling a massive tremor in the ground, then seeing the trees around him beginning to grow faster and faster, some wilting, while some grew to the size of the castle towers. "What the hell... He's accelerating the growth of the trees? How?" Cyclonio thought to himself, attempting to blast away The Hermit with a pressurised air beam, but unable to as a result of his new form. "Damn it... The rate of evolution's getting faster!" Cyclonio thought to himself, looking at a worm on the ground slowly beginning to develop new features. The clone, also realising what The Hermit was doing, nodded to Terrano, using some clones from a container to turn into Gemini 10% and carry large groups of Orderians away from Order Citadel to the half-rebuilt Technonia.

Eventually, more and more clouds started covering Terra, for a massive storm, whether or not because of The Hermit's influence, began to start brewing around everyone on Terra's surface. Even for those underground, they could feel its power. Twisted in Inamorta's caverns ran further into the caves because of the storm, the Crawlers in the northern end of Inamorta burrowing further and further into their nests to get away from the storm, as well as calming down their children. Even in the Abyss, The Hermit's power was being felt. In all six levels of the Abyss, a massive earthquake was felt. "What the hell was that?!" Pestilence asked Death, believing that they knew what it was. "Don't know, whatever it was, it's something BIG."

"Calm down, both of you." A voice said, coming from Death's layer of the Abyss, sending chills down Pestilence's back, but causing Death to bow down in respect, possibly to also hide the fear that they felt. "Hello, father." Death said to Kronos, who appeared to the four horsemen, who each bowed down to Kronos. "Whatever is happening, it is none of our concern. What's just happened is the accelerated evolution of not just intelligent life on that mudball, but any lifeforms on there. While you insolent fools might not realise it yet, this is being done by one of your Chosen." Kronos said, causing all of the horsemen to be confused. All but Famine and Death. The former, wondering which of their remaining chosen was responsible for this madness, while the latter simply didn't budge, knowing that it wasn't Euryale.

"Famine, which of your remaining chosen was it?" Kronos asked Famine, knowing that it was one of Famine's new chosen. Famine, thinking it over in their head, three of their chosen came to mind. "It was either The Magician, formerly Lenathor, The Hermit, or Judgement, my lord. Do you wish for us to interfere?"

"No." Kronos said, causing Famine to look at Kronos in shock. "What's the matter? Did I not make myself clear enough?"

"But, m-my lord, with all due respect, these chosen are incredibly powerful in their own ways, you're saying that I should just throw them away if the opportunity arises?"

"Did I not make myself clear? They may be your chosen, Famine. But, at the end of the day, they're mortals on that pathetic mudball that they call Terra. They're expendable. In fact, ALL OF YOU are expendable in my eyes. You four are just lucky enough to be safe from my wrath. But, if you happen to be killed, don't expect me to try and save you." Kronos said, getting different reactions from each of the four horsemen. Pestilence and Famine both questioned their father, wondering why he'd go as far as to abandon his own children to complete his mission. War could care less about what Kronos had said, not worrying about what would happen because he believed that he was the best of the horsemen. Death, however, agreed with Kronos' plan, believing that their siblings were just slowing down their progress.

"I know that half of you, or at least one of you, are wondering why I'm choosing to abandon you if you fail me. It's simple. I only wish for one thing in this dark, bleak universe. The complete extermination of everything that my brothers and father had created while I was still the pathetic thing known as Thanatos. This Titan body limits my true power. It is why I choose to convert these mortals, then exterminate them. Everything reminds me of them, including you four. I will spare you four for now, but if I find out that you have either failed or have turned against me, I won't hesitate to cut you down where you stand." Kronos said, then looking back at Famine.

Medusa tried snaring The Hermit's legs to trip them over, succeeding. Medusa then constricted The Hermit's entire body, attempting to stop them dead in their tracks. However, it had been revealed that The Hermit was also not immune to this evolution, the rate of evolution only taking longer for them. The Hermit became more and more like a shadow, eventually just sliding out of Medusa's grip. "He's getting closer!" Stheno said, then realising that her cybernetics were beginning to pop out of place from the accelerated evolution. The Hermit continued walking towards Order Citadel, the main castle getting bigger and bigger as The Hermit got closer.

"What the hell happened, Sis?" Stheno said to Medusa, seeing that The Hermit had fallen out of her grip and continued heading towards the Order Citadel. "I don't know! He just became like a shadow or something, I can't touch him!" Medusa said, beginning to shrink as a result of her evolution. Hydranian tried setting up a wall of packed ice, to remove the Hermit's shadow ability, only to realise that The Hermit could simply disable their shadow ability if the need to had arisen. Hydranian's evolution then sped up more, turning him into a large block of ice.

The storm got stronger and stronger, signifying the Order Empire's seemingly inevitable demise, Medusa and Hydranian only able to look in horror, realising that Famine had won in their eyes. "We couldn't do it, I'm sorry, Zealon..." Medusa thought to herself, then seeing it was beginning to hail as a result of the storm. Hydranian, realising that it was beginning to hail, used the last of his energy to redirect the hail towards the Hermit, realising that he couldn't convert back into a shadow, and would end up being damaged by the hail nonetheless.

Stheno cut The Hermit's legs off using her sword, causing The Hermit to fall to the ground. However, instead of crawling towards the citadel, The Hermit crawled over to their legs, simply reattaching them as if they were meant to be taken apart and put back together. "Oh, that's it!" Terrano said, grabbing The Hermit by its reattached leg, then slamming it into the ground several times, weakening The Hermit's abilities, but not realising that the landscape of Inamorta was changing more and more as a result of The Hermit's ability. The once skull-shaped landmass's tectonic plates had begun drifting away from one another, some fusing into the continent Chromania's ruins sat upon, others making their own continents and some just contributing to the destruction of Inamorta's skull-shaped landscape.

Then, it appeared as if the rotation of Terra had slowly begun to increase, days had become nights, but before anyone could realise, it was daytime once again. "HURRY UP AND FINISH HIM, TERRANO!" The Outlaws shouted to Terrano, realising that if The Hermit was not defeated, Terra would eventually become a massive ocean. Terrano, in a panic, not knowing how to take out The Hermit, used up all of his strength to throw The Hermit towards a volcano, which would then throw The Hermit into space at an incredible velocity, stopping his effects on what was once Inamorta. Terrano breathed a sigh of relief, then realising that his friends were slowly reverting back to their original forms.

Gemini's clone, sensing that The Hermit had been flung into space, returned the Orderians back to their homeland, realising that Inamorta was no longer skull-shaped on the way back. "What was that?" The clone asked the Outlaws, believing that they had an idea on what happened. "The accelerated evolution of everything on Terra. The Hermit was giving us way too much trouble because of it. We... Lost someone, really important to us because of them."

"Who was it?" Gemini's clone then asked, not realising that the person they lost was someone significant to the fate of the entire universe.

"Zealon. He had some friends back here, you know." Medusa said, revealing that it was Zealon who had been killed because of what The Hermit did.

"Wait, you don't mean to tell me... Zealon Sharpeye?"

"Yeah, that's him. He died saving us."

"Oh dear god... I've heard about him, but, I never expected to hear that. To make matters worse, he was supposed to be the guardian of one of the crystals." The clone said, shocked that Zealon had perished, then realising that the prophecy he had remembered had been altered. "The Fire Crystal, is it safe?" The clone then asked, the Outlaws nodding. "Good, I'll... let the real me and his friends know of what happened to him. Do you want me to send a message?" The clone asked, Medusa taking off her mask to reveal who she was to the Gemini Clone.

"Nothing, really. But Zealon wanted to apologise to his friends for what he did, just... let them know, alright? If you want to tell them that Medusa's now trying to help and protect Inamorta now, you can." Medusa said, the Gemini clone then smiling, realising that Medusa was trying to redeem herself for the Order-Chaos war. "I'll let them know. Thank you, all five of you." Gemini's clone said, then taking the container to the castle and entering it, to talk to the real Gemini.

In the Abyss, however, Famine was incredibly infuriated, shouting all kinds of curses and insults. "GOD F***ING DAMN IT! OF F***ING COURSE THE D***HEAD HAD TO NOT JUST THROW THE HERMIT, NOPE! THE TWAT HAD TO FULL ON F***ING FLING THE BA***RD! HOW THE F**K DOES THAT END UP BEING YOUR FIRST COURSE OF ACTION?! HOW?! IT DOESN'T F**KING ADD UP!" Famine screamed in his layer of the Abyss, scaring The Star, The World and The Emperor, his three most prized chosen out of the bunch. "Sire, a-are you okay-"

"No! No, I'm NOT okay! I'm f**king P***ED! The Hermit should have won! How did The Hanged Man do that?!" Famine said to The Star, causing him to back down almost immediately. "Famine, keep it down there. I warned you that your chosen were disposable." Kronos said, forcing Famine down to the lowest layer of the Abyss. Famine, realising that Kronos had heard the entire thing, decided to shut up. "You should have known better than to rely on one of your weaker chosen. While I understand why you're choosing to hide your trump cards until the end, this is going to end up being your undoing, in the end, I hope you know that." Kronos said, infuriating Famine, who had already been angry as a result of The Hermit's defeat. As a result, Famine attempted to attack Kronos, not realising that he had disappeared from where he was.

"Are you really trying to attack me, Famine?" Kronos asked, appearing behind Famine and causing them to feel an incredible amount of fear from Kronos. "You know, you never cease to amaze me. It appears as if your personality is the closest to your uncles' personalities. It's why you're such a valuable asset to me. I'll forgive you for now, but, surely, you aren't stupid enough to have already forgotten what I had said to you and your siblings, are you?" Kronos said, then leaving Famine's layer of the Abyss, leaving Famine only able to silently nod in respect because of what Kronos had said, The World, Star and The Emperor also silently looking on, not wanting to say anything. "I know you three won't, but just... just don't say anything, alright?" Famine said to the three chosen in his layer of the Abyss.

"Let's go home, everyone," Medusa said, the group entering the ship, Medusa waiting to be last, then looking at the Order Empire's citadel, the centre of the empire she once despised. However, instead of feeling anger towards it, she now admired the castle, looking at its beauty in the sunset. Medusa got one final look before entering the ship. Although, while he was gone and wasn't able to tell his friends how he felt about what they did, Medusa, as well as Cyclonio, Terrano, Hydranian, and lastly, Stheno, all knew, that deep within their hearts, Zealon was proud of them.

Chapter IX: The Devil's Dance With Death

"Death, a word?" Kronos said, requesting Death's presence in the lowest layer of the Abyss. Death, hearing this, turned into black goo, dripping from the ceiling of Kronos' layer of the Abyss onto the floor. "Yes, father?" Death said, bowing down at Kronos' feet. "As you have been made aware because of their little fit of rage, The Hermit has been defeated. I've told Famine to sit this out for a while, in case they end up getting killed because of their own rage."

"But father, I thought that you had said you didn't care if we died?"

"I don't, it's just that pest hasn't been fully utilised yet. What I've decided to do, is let both you and Euryale fight the Outlaws. The guardian of the Fire Crystal has perished, Gemini is beginning to realise that their precious prophecy isn't coming true. We're at an advantage. If you can take out the rest of the Outlaws, taking down the other seven guardians will take no effort, even from Pestilence. Now, I ask one thing. Is Euryale ready to fight?"

"Not yet, father. She still needs time to devour The Devil."

"Very well, make haste then, Death," Kronos said before Death returned to their layer of the Abyss, seeing that Euryale had dragged The Devil into their layer by the neck, using one of her snakes as a rope. "Sorry, Devil. I need your powers. I-it's urgent, I swear." Euryale said, trying to sound remorseful as she looked at The Devil dead in his eyes. Euryale hung The Devil in the air, then looking at him. She asked herself these questions before digging into her next meal: "How does he squirm around as I'm choking him?"

"Is The Devil trying to escape out of fear? Or to enact revenge?"

"Will The Devil attempt to fight back?"

"What does The Devil sound like when he's scared?"

"Is this right? Oh, wait. Of course, it is."

"Euryale... please..." The Devil said, running out of air. The Devil then looked at Death, wanting them to try and help save him. However, Death simply looked away, not wanting to be bothered by witnessing what they believed to be an inferior lifeform be devoured. Euryale's mouth began to water until eventually, the urge was too strong. Euryale clawed at The Devil's neck, severing both of his arteries, but keeping him alive, as there was nothing Euryale enjoyed more than hearing her foes cling for their life. Euryale then cut The Devil's insides out, indulging in every bite, while also paying good attention to how The Devil reacted when he was being eaten. Euryale then ripped out The Devil's liver, looking at how it pulsated in her hand, before consuming it.

"Euryale, you shouldn't play with your food. Eat the part of him you need for his powers and let it be over with." Death said, getting sick of seeing Euryale drag out taking The Devil's powers. Euryale rolled her eyes, then ripped out The Devil's heart, one component responsible for the Elementals' powers, then eating it. She then looked at The Devil one final time, seeing his blood-covered face. "Thanks for this." Euryale then said before ripping The Devil's spinal cord out of his body, eating it and gaining The Devil's powers. "Let's just get this over with." Death said, grabbing their scythe and sending both them and Euryale up to the surface, knowing exactly how they would lure the Outlaws to their presence.

The Outlaws returned to their base, realising that the mountain it was hidden in had miraculously been unaffected by Inamorta breaking apart. However, the base was a mess as a result of The Hermit's powers. "Well, let's just get this over with," Stheno said, putting some of the photos back up, in case Medusa ended up getting a sentimental feeling over noticing Zealon in the photos. Medusa went to her room just in case a mess was made there, while Cyclonio and Terrano helped clean up the main area of the base. Hydranian cleaned up everyone else's rooms. When they were all done, they decided to relax in the main area of the base for a while.

Medusa then looked noticed the photos, causing Stheno to sigh in frustration, but understanding why she decided to go up to the photos. Medusa grabbed a photo of what seemed like the aftermath of Medusa slapping Zealon across the face, having been taken when Medusa still seemed bitter towards Zealon. Terrano then looked at Medusa. "I miss him," Medusa said, putting the photo back where it was. "I wish I was nicer to him back then, I guess you just don't know how good they were until they are gone, huh?"

"It's alright, Medusa. We all miss him. He was the one who ended up bringing us together." Terrano said, looking at the photos, then noticing that he was in none of them, except for the oldest photo, the one with all of the original members. Meanwhile, with Death and Euryale, however, they were busy rounding up a small amount of their armada to not only give Terra a sample of a fraction of the Grim Empire's power but to also lure the Outlaws to Elementalia in the hopes of destroying them all at once. "That should do it," Death said, looking at the small fleet of spaceships before them. "You don't think you're overdoing it in the slightest?" Euryale said as she took small pieces of The Devil's remains out of her teeth.

"Euryale, there's a reason for this." Death said, then looking at the largest ship of the fleet, implying to Euryale that there was a failsafe if they did end up failing. "You'll know when you see it, but for now, let's get this over with." Death said, the fleet of spaceships flying in the direction of Terra. Death and Euryale then entered the largest ship before it took off as well. "I've been looking forward to unleashing some of my anger on my sisters," Euryale said, grabbing both of her swords out from her arms, then watching the ships before her fly closer and closer to Terra. "Don't worry, Euryale. You'll get your revenge, like how I will make Father proud and be the one, TRUE second coming of the Fallen Titan." Death, who had just noticed Euryale now had the numbers "1-5" branded on her right shoulder said, grinning.

The Outlaws were relaxing for the first time in a while, something they had been unable to do ever since they started fighting Famine's chosen. However, what they didn't know, was that they were about to face what was quite possibly the most powerful threat to Terra in recorded history. A series of loud explosions and powerful tremors shook the base, causing some objects to fall to the floor and chunks of the mountain to crumble off. "What the hell?" Cyclonio said, looking outside to see that not just Valoroso, or Elementalia, or even the outskirts of Elementalia, but ALL of the island that the elementals were living on ever since they escaped from the Order Empire, was now on fire.

"Oh. Dear. God." Terrano said, then noticing what looked like a massive fleet of airships, much like Flamagane's "airship", only more refined and not requiring Cycloids to lift up the ship, circling Elementalia. "Those are nothing like Lenathor's ship!" Cyclonio said, noticing how the airships around Elementalia seemed to be more technologically advanced than Lenathor's ship, signifying that this was a much bigger threat than Lenathor could ever pose. "They're here..." Stheno said, causing everyone to look at her. "It's Death, they're here to finish what Famine started. We've got to stop them, no matter what." The Outlaws, already knowing that they had to stop Death, quickly formulated a plan of attack.

"Okay, all of us except Stheno can remember the strategy we used against Lenathor's ship, right? Maybe we can just try that again-" Cyclonio said, thinking that they could repeat what they did to get into Lenathor's ship.

"Don't bother," Medusa said, confusing everyone in the room except for Stheno. "Death's forces are a hive mind. They'll know if we're trying something."

"Then maybe we could try turning that against them? When they try and attack us, we'll bail from that ship, and move onto the next?" Terrano said, thinking up of something that could work against Death's forces.

"I mean, the Harbingers aren't as smart as Death, it could work."

"But what about Euryale, Sis?" Stheno asked Medusa, reminding her that Euryale was now Death's chosen and more likely than not, one of the people aboard the fleet. "Look, Stheno, I have a feeling you won't like this, but if she does try and fight us, we need you to distract her," Medusa said, noticing that Stheno, while reluctant, decided to agree to the idea. "Alright, it's a barely thought out plan, but it sounds stupid enough to work. Let's get this over with." Stheno said, the group entering their ship and preparing to fight an entire fleet of potentially continent-destroying spaceships.

Cyclonio floored it, then steering the ship towards the direction of the fleet. However, unknown to them, a Harbinger had spotted them on the central ship's radar. "We've got enemies approaching on the left," The Harbinger said to Death, who knew exactly who it was. "Perfect..." Death thought to themselves, then deciding on an action. "Fire on them. A single cannon." Death said, the Harbinger then doing exactly what was asked, landing a direct hit. However, out of the explosion, another ship, the real ship, emerged. "So, you're going for a decoy plan? Alright, allow me to explain my Reaper Armada, then." Death said, preparing to announce to the Outlaws and the Elementals the power of the Reaper Armada.

Cyclonio allowed Terrano, Medusa, Stheno and Hydranian to drop down onto a ship before they looked at the largest ship in the fleet, hearing Death's voice come from it. "You wish to oppose me, weaklings? Very well then. Divert your eyes to the almighty power of the Reaper Armada, the power of which, is unlike any other in the universe! If you wish to defeat ME, the greatest of the four horsemen, then you MUST be wishing for a gruesome fate!" Death said, trying to toy with the four Outlaws aboard one of the ships. "I don't know what happened while I was gone, but bring it on, Death!" Terrano said, the group splitting up and attacking any Harbingers aboard the ship.

Cyclonio set the ship to fly back to the base on autopilot before entering a newly installed pod. The pod ejected, catching the attention of everyone that saw the ship. "And... Now!" Cyclonio said before the pod transformed into an alternate mode of transport for Cyclonio. "Is that..." Medusa said, looking at what Cyclonio was on. "Yep, that's a scooter," Stheno said, putting her hand to her face, revealing what both her and Cy had been working on. Cyclonio flew closer towards a ship before noticing it turned its cannons towards him. The cannons fired, but due to the scooter's maneuverability, it was able to dodge the shots and fly past the ship, causing it to be fired on by another ship which tried shooting him down.

"Why are we standing around?! Let's move it!" Hydranian said before Terrano ripped off a cannon and threw it at the central part of the ship they were on, destroying the controls. "S**t! Next ship!" Stheno said as the four moved to another ship as the one they were standing on fell to the ground. "They're tearing apart the ships, your majesty!" The Harbinger monitoring the status of the Reaper Armada said, frustrating Death. Death then turned to Euryale, nodding to them. "You know what to do, Euryale." Death said, causing Euryale to start smiling out of the thought of killing her sisters.

Euryale, instead of using a conventional method of transport to reach the Outlaws, used one of the cannons to reach them, seeing the four on one of the ships, shredding everyone on board. "HERE I COME, SISTERS!" Euryale shouted, then firing the cannon. However, due to the noise of the engines, they weren't able to hear it, rendering Euryale's attack as an ambush. Euryale aimed for Stheno first, seeing her inside of one of the ships. Euryale then kicked Stheno in the head so hard, that it ended up shattering her cybernetic eye and cracking the metal. "Sis!" Medusa said, realising that Stheno had been knocked down. However, she then saw Euryale, who turned her head and hissed at Medusa, Hydranian and Terrano, petrifying only Hydranian. "What happened to the petrifying gaze being useless when two or more gorgons are in the area?!" Terrano said, trying to figure out how to bring back Hydranian.

"Euryale's different! She was somehow born being able to bypass that rule!" Stheno said as acid leaked from her cybernetic eye. Euryale, seeing that Stheno had tried to get back up, stomped her foot on the back of Stheno's head, digging Stheno's face further into the ship. "Sorry, sisters, but Death's orders!" Euryale said, trying to sound guilty once again. However, Medusa and Stheno were able to see through this and warned Terrano about Euryale. "She doesn't mean it! She's been evil since day one!" Medusa said to Terrano.

"If she really was guilty about it, she'd try and help us!" Stheno said, getting stomped on again. Medusa, having had enough of Euryale tormenting her sister, got out both of her daggers and infusing them with as much venom as she could, causing the daggers to begin glowing red. Euryale then laughed at the sight, throwing Stheno out of the ship and grabbing both of her swords out from her arms. "You really think your daggers are going to do something against me, Sis? You couldn't even beat the Order Empire, for crying out loud!" Euryale said, laughing at the fact that her sister believed that she would be able to cause any form of harm to her. "Honestly, Euryale, the only real thing that I want for you right now, is for you to suffer," Medusa said, her eyes starting to go red. "Alright then... BRING IT ON!" Euryale said before both Medusa and her started running towards one another.

Stheno awoke from her unconscious state to see that she was falling to the ground. As she was falling, she took notice of a bright green capsule in the armada's main ship. Not bothering to check what it was, she converted her legs into a jet and flew back up to see the fight before her. Medusa threw three knives at Euryale, imbuing all three of them with her venom beforehand. Euryale swung one of her swords, managing to deflect all three knives. "You forgot what kind of weapons I wield, Sis?" Euryale said as both of her swords began to break apart, now appearing more like whips with sword segments on them, the distinct wailing of those that had been killed by them being heard from them. "You guys keep going! I'll deal with her!" Medusa said before Terrano grabbed Hydranian's statue and jumped out of the ship, letting Stheno grab him and purify Hydranian of the petrification spell.

The three landed on another ship, but this time, opted to hijack a cannon and use it to damage the other ships. "That one looks big! Maybe it'll cause a chain reaction or something?" Stheno said to Terrano, pointing to a ship in the distance that in theory, would take out more ships as it fell down. Terrano tried shooting at the ship, but the shots fizzled out before doing any damage. "Wait, if that happens, then that means they can only take us out if we're close to them!" Hydranian said, getting an idea. "Terrano, fling the cannon at the ship!" The cannon was flung instead of being fired, striking the ship. The three looked on as they saw the ship damaged crash into another ship, beginning the chain reaction. But what they didn't realise was that they were then fired on, sending them flying and landing on Cyclonio's scooter.

"What the?" Cyclonio said, looking at the three. "How the hell did you end up here?" Terrano brushed himself off then decided to ask Cyclonio a question in response. "Why the hell are you riding a scooter-"

"There's the next ship! Get them!" Cyclonio said, interrupting Terrano by telling them to jump to the next ship. Not bothering to get an answer, the three jumped onto the next ship, seeing that this time, there was a large amount of Harbingers waiting for them. "ENEMIES SPOTTED, NEUTRALISING." One of the Harbingers said, the rest of the group loading their weapons. "The group's located them, and it seems like Euryale's dealing with Medusa, your majesty." The Harbinger monitoring the armada said to Death, who noticed that Euryale seemed to somehow be having some trouble against Medusa. "You're losing against your sister, Euryale. Don't forget what the main goal of this is." Death said to Euryale telepathically, letting them know that they could see they were having trouble against Medusa.

Euryale, realising they weren't using their full power, decided to start using more advanced techniques in their fighting style, throwing off Medusa. "Try and keep up, Sis!" Euryale said, swinging one of her swords at full speed, managing to cut off Medusa's left foot. "I have you now!" Euryale then threw her left hand in the air, the sword following as well. If Medusa didn't move, she would be cut in half by the sword, allowing Euryale to take out the rest of the group. Medusa decided to use her dagger to deflect the sword, believing that it would do nothing against it. Surprisingly enough, it worked. But Euryale saw through this, throwing her right hand to the left and swinging at Medusa again.

Medusa threw an array of knives down the sword, each inserting themselves into the sword and straightening it out, causing the sword's blade to simply fall to the ground. "So, you thought straightening out one of my swords would save you? Fine then! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!" Euryale said, swinging her other sword in the air and then whipping it down, causing the platform they were standing on to begin plummeting to the ground. "You're insane, Sis! You'll kill both of us!" Medusa said to Euryale, trying to make her realise what she had done. "I've got a way back up, what about you?!" Euryale said, causing Medusa to realise that even if the platform did reach the fires, Euryale still had a way to escape.

Medusa punched Euryale in the face, while the latter countered by kneeing Medusa in the abdomen, then delivering an uppercut to the chin, sending Medusa towards the edge of the platform and causing Euryale to begin laughing maniacally. Medusa threw herself up, then throwing almost every single knife she had with her at Euryale. However, Euryale's sword had fallen to her, allowing Euryale to deflect most of the knives. She then tapped into the powers that The Devil had given her, heating up the atmosphere around her and Medusa, while not feeling even a bit of the heat. "Is it hot in here, or is it just you, Sis?" Euryale said, taunting Medusa, who was clearly beginning to feel the heat around them.

Medusa, not wanting to give up now, continued fighting, managing to stab Euryale using one of her daggers. Seeing this as an opportunity, she siphoned every last drop of her venom into the dagger, then administered it to Euryale, causing Euryale to feel an intense burning pain that showed she wasn't immune to everything Medusa had to use against her. "Where the hell is Medusa?" Terrano asked, looking at the ship crashing to the ground. "Down there!" Hydranian said, pointing out the platform falling down to the fiery pits of what was once Valor. "She's got it covered! Let's keep moving!" Stheno said, directing the two to keep destroying the ships. Medusa looked at the ships before her and Euryale crashing down to the ground, sometimes taking pieces of Valor down with them. "Take a GOOD long look, Sis, because this is the LAST time you're gonna be alive to see this!" Euryale said, delivering a kick to Medusa's face, nearly kicking her off of the platform.

"You don't need to blame me for your loss, blame The Devil, who foolishly decided to let me devour him!" Euryale said, causing Medusa to realise something. "Hang on a minute... If Sis got The Devil's powers by eating him, I wonder..." Euryale sent a massive pool of magma towards Medusa, only for Medusa to tap into what little power of The Magician she had within her from consuming his arms and legs and remove the magma via black holes. "What?! Impossible!" Euryale said, realising that she wasn't the only Gorgon with elemental powers. "Thank you, Lenathor!" Medusa said to herself, causing Euryale to grit her teeth in frustration.

"No matter, that Void Elemental's powers won't do you ANY GOOD against me!" Euryale said, infusing her sword with Magma and beginning to swing it at Medusa. Medusa threw the swings off course using the black holes before hammer kicking Euryale into the platform, shattering it. "Damn you, Sis! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU TO HELL!" Euryale said, grabbing one of the pieces of the platform and throwing it at Medusa. Medusa, unable to use a black hole to remove the piece, grabbed onto the piece then jumped towards Euryale from it. Euryale, seeing Medusa get closer, intercepted an attempted haymaker, and delivered a hammer fist to Medusa's back, cracking it and sending her plummeting towards the burning ruins of Valor.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Outlaws saw the fight before them, realising that Medusa was finally beginning to have some form of advantage against Euryale. "C'mon Sis... You got this!" Stheno said, looking at Medusa, who stabbed Euryale with her other dagger, then overloading it with more venom, causing Euryale to scream in pain. "Why, you..." Euryale said, elbowing Medusa into the ground then beginning to stomp on her. "COME ON, SIS! USE YOUR ELEMENTAL POWERS! DO IT! YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO!" Euryale said while cackling crazily all the way through. Death had been watching the fight, seeing both Euryale and Medusa nearly violently beat one another into pulps.

Medusa grabbed Euryale's leg and then threw her into the fire, believing that it would do something against her. However, Euryale simply walked out of the fire, catching Medusa off guard. "Forgot to mention, Sis. I'm immune to that now!" Euryale said before she let out an ear-piercing cry, destroying both of Medusa's ears for the remainder of the fight. Medusa, now having to rely on just her sight to find Euryale, looked all around her, then seeing Euryale attempting to behead her. Medusa kicked Euryale back, then used The Magician's black hole abilities to bring Euryale back towards her, punching Euryale into the ground. "STAY. PUT. SIS." Medusa said to Euryale, who wanted to continue fighting, even though she had been beaten to a pulp.

"You... Can't tell me what to do... SIS!" Euryale said, grabbing her sword and then swinging it at Medusa, ensnaring her. Euryale then yanked the sword towards her, causing the sword to cut into Medusa's body and bring Medusa towards Euryale. Medusa tried standing back up, only to look at her hands and arms, now drenched in her own blood. Euryale stood back up, also covered in her own blood. Smiling at Medusa. "I have to say, Sis. You did hold out pretty well. But, the outcome's the same. I, WIN!" Euryale said, whipping her sword to put it back together, then preparing to cut Medusa into pieces. However, as if the idea had been whispered to her from the grave, Medusa pulled out Zealon's pistol and shot a bullet into Euryale's leg.

Euryale, seeing the bullet, took it out of her leg and looked at it, then laughing. "You really think a measly bullet is going to do something against me, Sis?" Euryale said, holding the bullet. Medusa then got back up, struggling to even stand up on her feet from how badly she was cut and attacked. "It's not the bullet which I was counting on, it was what came after..!" Medusa said, confusing Euryale before the bullet exploded in Euryale's face, blowing half of it off and blinding Euryale in her left eye. "What?!" Euryale said, seeing pieces of her face and skull flying off of her face. "E-explosive, bullets, Sis. Zealon was working on them before The Magician got him, I'm glad I brought these, honestly." Medusa said, Euryale looking at her in complete and utter disbelief.

"Which leads me to my next question, Sis. Stheno and I never got to see who you were more like. Are you going to regenerate your face, like how I can regenerate or reattach that foot you cut off? Or are you going to need cybernetics like the ones Stheno has? If you can regenerate, how long is it going to take? Well, Sis?" Medusa said, finding her left foot and allowing it to slowly reattach itself to her body. Medusa then fired another bullet into Euryale's right foot, to make sure she couldn't get back up, even if she was capable of regenerating her damaged limbs. "I... I won't let you win, Medusa... No matter what!" Euryale said, trying to look at Medusa, despite the fact that she could only see in one eye, which had been covered in blood. "Euryale, stop this, now." A voice said, catching Medusa off guard.

Death appeared to both Medusa and Euryale, causing Euryale to look at Medusa in joy, believing Death would finish her off, and Medusa to prepare herself for another fight. "Euryale, you've been beaten senseless, you can't keep fighting in this state." Death said, picking up Euryale then looking at Medusa. Death nodded to Medusa before saying: "You may have defeated The Devil, as well as nearly destroyed a fraction of the Grim Armada, but believe me when I say this, traitor. When this planet's people are able to escape this mudball, I'll be waiting for you." Death said, then turning both themselves and Euryale into black goo and disappearing. After they disappeared, it began to rain, dousing the fires around Medusa, allowing her to see the ruins of Valor, as well as seeing the people come out of their houses to make sure everything was clear.

"Your majesty, y-you bailed on us?" The Harbinger said to Death through an intercom, wondering if they were surrendering. "We aren't done yet, activate Failsafe X." Death said, causing the Harbinger to choke on their words for a brief moment. "With all due respect, a-are you sure, your majesty? We're still on board and all-"

"YOU'RE DISPOSABLE TO ME, YOU FOOL! DO IT!" Death screamed at the Harbinger, causing them to let out a sigh, then turn a key on their dashboard, which revealed a red button. The Harbinger pressed it, waiting for the failsafe to activate. "We did it!" Cyclonio said to the other three Outlaws on his scooter, then realising a loud screeching sound was emanating from the largest ship in what was left of the fleet. The ship then exploded, catching all five of the Outlaws off guard. "What the hell was that?" Hydranian asked, seeing that there was now a large orb of darkness coming from where the ship once was, as well as the remains of the Grim Armada beginning to circle the orb.

"Who cares? Right now, we need to get Medusa, ready the ship, and get ready to fight whatever the hell that thing is!" Cyclonio said, stating the plan he had in mind on how they would tackle this mysterious force. "I just HOPE that we're ready before that thing is."

Chapter X: Judgement.

Death returned to the Abyss, alongside a brutally beaten Euryale, then kneeling before Kronos. "Did you manage to take out the Outlaws, Death?" Kronos asked Death, then hearing the pained groans of Euryale, who was clinging onto the part of her face that had been blown off by the explosive bullet. "No, father. I was unable to take out any of the Outlaws, however, Elementalia as we know it has been destroyed. I am sorry for my failure in completing the task you had given me." Death said, feeling ashamed that they had failed their father. Kronos got off of their throne, then looked at Death. "Do you think that simply destroying that pathetic excuse of an empire is going to make me reconsider the consequence for failing me, Death?" Kronos said, then looking at then picking up Euryale. "You, gorgon. What happened to you to have you end up in this state?"

"Her sister, the traitor, ended up nearly killing her in combat." Death said before Kronos threw Euryale aside like a piece of rubbish. "I will reiterate, Death. You may have succeeded in destroying Elementalia, something not even Famine could do. However, the consequence that awaits you remains the same. You are to have your powers restricted, and be forced to fend against those things in the underbelly of that mudball, both of you." Kronos said, then teleporting Death and Euryale down into the underworld of Terra, where a large colony of Twisted were waiting for them. "Famine, a word," Kronos said, requesting Famine's presence in his layer of the Abyss. Famine entered the lowest layer of the Abyss in his amber stickman form before bowing at Kronos' feet. "Save the bowing. I would like to talk to you about your newest chosen."

"W-which one?" Famine asked, wondering which of the remaining chosen their father was referring to. Kronos let out a sigh before handing to Famine the second-last card of the Chaosian Major Arcana. "Judgement. What about them? Are you talking about Judgement now, or when I first got the bunch?"

"Now. It appears Death altered the blueprints to that machine you were making and fused it with Judgement's remains."

"The one using the Exarians' technology?"

"Correct."

"Is Death nuts?! That's gonna make it go haywire! That robot can't handle that much raw power!" Famine said in a panic, realising that Death's supposed upgrades may have just destroyed Judgement.

"That is what Death had upgraded, Famine. You see, Judgement, that thing, is no longer a robot. It is now an extradimensional, ever-evolving god of destruction, having the potential to level planets, even galaxies in the blink of an eye if given enough time. However, it has been released in a premature state, leaving it at the level of the late Arcanus and Griffon the Great. However, the mass of engineering from all of the empires we have conquered over time that Death's Grim Armada was composed of may help to nourish it and allow for it to grow. Now, Famine, don't you have surveillance on Judgement at all times?" Kronos said, explaining to Famine what Judgement had evolved into and indirectly asking Famine to check on Judgement.

Famine returned to their layer of the Abyss to check the screen monitoring Judgement, to see that all of the ships, whether they were destroyed or not were starting to be pulled towards Judgement. "S**t... Dad wasn't kidding..." Famine said to himself, then noticing the Outlaws on Cyclonio's scooter flying away from the scene. "Wait, where the hell's Zealon?" Famine then asked himself, not seeing Zealon on the scooter. Famine, having respected Zealon, started to get concerned over what had happened to the Stealthidon, AKA Wraith. "Alright, Judgement. You're gonna need all the help you can get. I'm on my way buddy, don't worry!" Famine said, preparing to exit the Abyss and assist Judgement in the fight.

"Sire, wait!" The Star said, flying over to Famine. "Do you want us four to help?" Famine then looked to The Star, who was pointing to the Emperor, Empress and The World. "They NEED to be stopped, I mean, look what they did to Bruciato and Affogata!" The Empress said, reminding Famine of the fate of The Lovers, as well as the fact that she had been close friends with both of them. "Sure, Temperance is still alive, but for how long? He's probably down in Terra's core by now! Let's not mention The Fool, the bloody coward." The Emperor said, recalling Temperance's fate, as well as how The Fool decided to bail on the group. "Our point is, everyone before us has failed. The Lovers, Temperance, Strength, The Sun & Moon, even Lenathor lost against them!"

"Alright-alright-alright! Good grief, look, if I'm being honest, you guys are my last resort, especially you and the Empress, Emperor. Plus, we've still got a few extras left, just, be patient, alright? Torture some of the damned or something." Famine said, seeing the reactions from the four. While they were against it, they did understand why Famine had decided to keep them back, deciding that they would stay in the Abyss for now, until they were needed. "Now, I've gotta go help Judgement. Behave." Famine said, then exiting the Abyss to see Judgement absorbing the ships.

Meanwhile, back at the Outlaws' base, the team was busy gearing up with absolutely EVERYTHING they would need for what would most likely be their final fight. "Does ANYONE here have any clue whatsoever on what the hell that thing was?" Medusa said, grabbing a rifle from Zealon's arsenal and loading it with explosive bullets. "I have no idea, it's like no tech I've ever seen in my life! Not even Chromania was like that!" Cyclonio said, preparing the ship's weapons as well as making sure the ship was in the best condition possible. "Sis?" Medusa said to Stheno, asking if she knew anything about what it was. "All I know was that whatever that thing is, it just absorbed ALL KINDS of alien technology aboard that armada, who knows what it's capable of now!" Stheno said, helping Terrano and Hydranian get ready.

"Ship's ready, let's move!" Cyclonio said as the team entered the ship, then taking off and flying towards the orb, revealed to be Judgement, who was about to absorb the last ship. "Get ready for anything, we're going into this battle blind, so be ready for anything that could be thrown at us," Cyclonio said, readying the guns on the ship as well as decreasing the speed of the ship as it got closer and closer to Judgement. The orb surrounding Judgement slowly got bigger and bigger, until eventually disappearing to reveal Judgement's body. A colossal machine, being much larger than the Hades mecha at Technonia, which the machine's appearance resembled, albeit much bulkier and heavily armoured, as well as having a hunched back, possibly from how heavy it was. On Judgement's left shoulder, Famine was standing next to Judgement's head, as to help them identify enemies.

"They're already here?" Famine said, looking at the Outlaws' ship, which had been named the Withered Conifer. Aboard the ship, Stheno noticed Famine on Judgement's left shoulder, looking at them. "Looks like Famine decided to join the fight as well," Stheno said, pointing out to the others that Famine had chosen to assist Judgement in the fight. Famine then decided to talk to the Outlaws, remembering the conversation they had with each of the Outlaws about joining the Abyssal Empire. "So, you've all chosen to decline the offer I made the first time we talked to one another?" Famine said, smirking at the Outlaws, as they already knew that all of the Outlaws, including Stheno, had declined the offer.

"You bloody bet that we declined your stupid offer, Famine!" Cyclonio said, speaking for all of the Outlaws as he spoke to Famine. "So, where's the Stealthidon?" Famine asked, not realising that mentioning Zealon would end up catching all of the Outlaws off guard. "He's... gone," Cyclonio said, feeling as if he was about to suffocate just by saying that. This, however, ended up catching Famine off guard as well, realising exactly why Zealon had disappeared. "You mean... This whole time, my chosen, Death and Euryale has been fighting you five, and Zealon was already gone?" Famine said in shock, realising what Zealon's death meant, as well as trying to process everything else. "Yeah. But, this isn't why you're here now, is it?" Hydranian said, taking over Cyclonio's place when the group was talking to Famine.

"You're right, I'm not here to talk this time. Now? Now I'm just here to finish what Death started. Finishing you." Famine said, looking at Judgement. "Do you five still have the files for the elementals?" Famine then asked, acknowledging that the Outlaws had taken the files for all of the elementals from the lab they were made in. "They were destroyed by Lenathor, but we've managed to restore them."

"Then why don't you go ahead and turn to Judgement's page?"

"It's destroyed, Famine."

"Then how about I dump the info on Judgement for you?" Famine said, sending a chill down the spines of all five of the Outlaws. Famine signalled Judgement to prepare to fight the Outlaws. "Elementalian test subject twenty, codename: Judgement!" Famine said, then hearing parts of Judgement whirr into place. "Originally a blank elemental, Judgement came to the lab seeking to awaken his element. However, I got to him before that could happen!" More and more parts of Judgement moved into place, as well as several slots opening up on Judgement's robotic shell, their purpose unknown for now. "The word Judgement is sometimes considered as a calamity considered as a punishment from those above. Fitting for an ever-evolving, extradimensional God of Destruction, wouldn't you think? But, I've said too much. Judgement, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Famine said as Judgement fired several cannons at the ship.

"MOVE, CY!" Stheno shouted in a panic, causing Cyclonio to make the ship fly upwards as fast as possible to evade the cannon shots. However, something was wrong, the shots fired were following the ship. "What the hell?! That's never happened before! Not even with Lenathor!" Terrano said, pointing out how not even a ship as advanced as Lenathor's was capable of firing plasma shots that followed potential enemy ships. "I'll fly you four over to Judgement! I'll focus on dealing with these things then I'll provide air support!" Cyclonio said, flying over the shots and heading towards Judgement. "They're coming back here? Really?" Famine said, seeing the ship get closer and closer.

Once Cyclonio noticed Judgement's left arm was getting closer and closer to the Withered Conifer, he opened up the back door. "NOW!" Cyclonio shouted as the four jumped out of the ship and towards Judgement's main body. Each of the four had different ways of landing safely, Hydranian using the clouds around him to create an ice slide, Terrano simply allowing himself to fall onto Judgement due to already being dead, Medusa aiming for Judgement's hand, then stabbing one of her daggers into Judgement's hand to slow her fall and Stheno using the "veins" on Judgement's arms as rails, grinding on them with her feet. Cyclonio then switched the Withered Confier's perspective to behind him, to see that instead of being normal cannon shots as originally believed, they were large blobs of microscopic robots, focused on only one thing: Finding enemy ships, latching onto them and then converting their materials into more robots.

"How the f**k am I meant to fight those things?" Cyclonio said to himself, looking at the nanobots and realising that conventional weaponry would be useless against them. What Cyclonio didn't know, however, was that the Gemini clone that they had met while fighting The Hermit noticed the fight that was currently ongoing, and had contacted the Technion to help the Outlaws as a thank-you gift for saving Terra from the Hermit. Cyclonio then looked at the radar, marking the nanobots as red, so he knew where they were. Meanwhile, as Stheno was grinding on Judgement's veins, she noticed lasers had appeared on the veins to either force her off of Judgement's body or vaporise Stheno completely. "So, we're playing that game, Judgement? Bring it on!" Stheno said as she noticed more veins appear before her.

With Medusa, Judgement had felt a slight itch on their hand from Medusa stabbing it, in response closing their hand in an attempt to crush Medusa. However, Medusa had found one of the slots that the nanobots had been ejected from, and hid in it to prevent herself from being crushed. However, what she didn't realise was that she had entered the inside of Judgement's body, seeing the various machinery that was powering the massive machine. "What the..." Medusa said to herself, seeing the inside of Judgement for the first time. However, she had been spotted by Judgement's "immune system", which had sent out several robotic troops to deal with the threat. "Well, this is quite the predicament I've put myself in, isn't it boys?" Medusa said, trying to crack a joke with the robots that were to either kill or kick her out of Judgement's body.

Hydranian slid down onto Judgement's body, Terrano crashing into Judgement's hull next to him, causing him to flinch a little. "Good god, Terrano! You alright?" Hydranian said, helping Terrano up to his feet then keeping an eye on Judgement until Terrano was standing up. "Yeah, I'm alright. We gotta get to Famine and figure out how to turn that thing off!" Terrano said, looking at Judgement's head then realising Judgement was now looking at them. Terrano and Hydranian started running towards where they thought Famine was, forgetting how long it would take to reach Judgement's left shoulder at this speed. "You aren't going anywhere near Judgement if you want my say!" Famine said, using his swarm form to fly towards Hydranian and Terrano then converting into his amber stickman form to confront the two.

"Famine, while we are aware of you being one of the four horsemen, we won't hesitate to kick your teeth in if you decide to get in our way. That is if you have any teeth at all," Hydranian said without the slightest bit of fear in his voice to Famine, causing Famine to have to think over his attack plan. "S**t, he's not kidding. So how the hell am I gonna do this? Hydranian could easily freeze me in my swarm form, Hanged Man could pulverise me in this form if I get too close to him, there's gotta be some way where I'll be able to take out both of them easily." Famine thought to himself, quickly thinking over any forms he had access to that would be suited to taking out Hydranian and Terrano.

Meanwhile, Cyclonio had been flying away from the nanobots for some time, until he got a transmission on his ship. "This is Technonia Fighter Alpha to Outlaw One, do you copy, Outlaw One?" Cyclonio, confused, saw the microphone that the Technion used to communicate with one another and used it. "Uh, this is Outlaw One, loud and clear, Alpha."

"Great to know, we're here to help you out," Alpha said to Cyclonio over the transmission, then seeing Gemini 15%, a mechanical-like Eclipsor, fly by Cyclonio and give him a thumbs up. "Tell us what we need to do, and we'll do it." Alpha then said to Cyclonio, causing him to chuckle from the sheer excitement of seeing reinforcements arrive to help him out of a pickle. "Alright, Technion, take out those nanobots!" Cyclonio said, then waiting for Alpha's response. "Heard you loud and clear, Outlaw One, on our way, over," Alpha said before Cyclonio saw some Technion aircraft come in from behind him and shoot at the nanobots. Cyclonio kept on leading the nanobots towards him until he was certain that they had all been destroyed, then joined the Technion Squadron in firing at Judgement's body.

"Have you made your decision yet, Famine?" Hydranian asked Famine, then summoning two gauntlets made from ice to his side, just in case. "Or are we gonna have to decide for you?" Terrano then said, switching his left arm to that of a Chompler's, as well as summoning a giant mallet made of earth. Famine, seeing the Technion forces above them, started laughing. "You think your little attempt at intimidating me will make me leave you be? Pathetic! Just pathetic!" Famine said, then splitting their form into both his swarm form and his amber stickman form, to see what would happen. Amber Famine delivered an uppercut to Hydranian while allowing Swarm Famine to attack Terrano in all directions, rendering the mallet and Chompler arm useless against them.

"Pathetic!" Famine said, then having both of their forms attack Hydranian. However, what they didn't notice was that Stheno was approaching fast on Judgement's "veins", preparing to kick Amber Famine in the head, to get them away from Hydranian and even potentially kick them off of Judgement's body. Swarm Famine then attacked both Elementals, laughing all the way through. "The synergy between these two forms makes both of them unstoppable! When will you realise this?" Famine said, then opting to make their swarm form throw Hydranian and Terrano at each other, in an attempt to knock them out. Amber Famine then summoned a large axe to their side as Swarm Famine acted as a rope to hold Hydranian and Terrano in place. "You might be strong, but your power right now is NOTHING compared to me-" Famine said, then stopping to hear the sound of rail grinding getting louder and louder.

*WHACK!*

Stheno jumped off of the rail she was on and delivered a kick to Amber Famine's jaw, sending them into the air and causing Swarm Famine to temporarily dissipate. "Let's move!" Stheno said, both Terrano and Hydranian grabbing onto Stheno's hands as she activated her rocket boots. "What the-" Famine said, then seeing Stheno get away with both Hydranian and Terrano in tow. "Oh, no you don't!" Famine said, fusing Amber Famine and Swarm Famine into one and using Swarm Famine's body to fly towards Stheno at high speeds. "Famine's getting close! Cover for me until we get to Judgement's head!" Stheno said, looking at Judgement while Terrano and Hydranian prepared to fight Famine. Judgement, however, saw Stheno flying towards their head, deciding that they would try and help Famine. Judgement moved the arm that the four weren't on towards Stheno and the others, attempting to smack them off of their body like a stickman would to a mosquito.

"S**t, Judgement's gonna try to crush us, whatever you do, DO NOT let Famine take out the rocket boots!" Stheno said, setting the boots to full speed while keeping an eye on Judgement so that she would know when to fly upwards. Famine appeared before Terrano and Hydranian, then talking to them again. "Running's futile, you know! I'll just keep catching up!" Famine said, then trying to attack Stheno using their swarm form. However, Hydranian shot several litres of water at Famine, forcing them to have to back off for the time being. "Damn it, of course, they had to be on the move! Alright, let's try the other form!" Famine thought, then throwing Amber Famine at Stheno. However, Terrano summoned the Earthen Mallet again, and swung it at Amber Famine at full force, sending them flying towards Judgement's other arm. "The Hanged Man fell for it! This is how I'm gonna intercept their attempts at shutting down Judgement!" Famine thought to themself before crashing into Judgement's arm.

Meanwhile, inside of Judgement's body, Medusa was fending off several robot troops, throwing knives at some, beheading others, ripping apart more, sometimes even impaling the robots. "How many of these things are there?!" Medusa said out loud, not seeing a noticeable decrease in the number of robots around her. "I guess I've gotta start heading towards the brain of this thing before I'm swarmed with robots, then!" Medusa said as her snakes started to make her swing across the inside of Judgement, sometimes spitting venom at the robots if they got too close. "FOREIGN CELL GETTING CLOSER TO BRAIN, DANGER LEVEL RAISED." One of the robots said, identifying Medusa as a "cell". Eventually, Medusa's snakes got tired of swinging Medusa around. "Take a break, guys. I'll deal with this," Medusa said to her snakes, allowing them to rest. Medusa's eyes turned red before she tapped into the power of The Magician, casting fire at the robots, frying their motherboards and overheating their CPUs.

Cyclonio, the Gemini Clone and Technion forces circled Judgement, firing at different parts of Judgement's body. While the nanobots were still a bit of an issue, they were a lot easier to take care of now that there were more forces in the area to deal with them. "All units, aim for the robot's joints, particularly the legs!" Cyclonio said, believing that if they could cripple Judgement, they would be a lot easier to take out than if Judgement's legs weren't destroyed. Cyclonio instead opted to take a look at Judgement, seeing how it looked similar to the destroyed Hades robot they had seen in the Technion Hangar a year back. "So, this is why you tried getting some tech off of those robots, Z. You thought they were like this thing." Cyclonio thought to himself, seeing why Zealon had wanted to visit the destroyed Hades robot before opting to fire all of the missiles aboard the Withered Conifer at Judgement's torso, blowing several holes in Judgement's body. "Jeez, for such a dangerous foe, his plating's pretty weak against these." Cyclonio thought to himself before realising he was using bunker-buster missiles.

"Keep going! You'll get there eventually!" Medusa thought to herself as she either cut apart the robots or melted them. Eventually, Medusa reached the giant robot's "heart", a massive machine that was designed to pump out robots as well as supply power to the brain, with Judgement's true form most likely representing the brain. "You know what, maybe me destroying this would help them out?" Medusa thought to herself, then coating her knives in her own venom then setting them on fire. Medusa threw all of her knives with her into the machine, then preparing to have to do more damage to the "heart" if the knives weren't enough. While Medusa was unable to witness the effects of this, the effects were being felt by Judgement, Famine, Terrano, Hydranian, Stheno, as well as the robots that were heading towards Medusa.

Famine noticed Judgement starting to lost balance, then seeing that Judgement's "veins" were starting to become greener in colour. "Yes, Sis!" Stheno said, realising that Medusa had injected Judgement with her venom. However, what came next surprised even her. The "veins" then filled up with fire before exploding. This also happened to every other part of the robot's "circulatory system", causing a massive explosion all over Judgement, forcing everyone to have to bail from Judgement's body. Medusa jumped out of Judgement from a hole that had been created by an attack from an aircraft, then being caught by Cyclonio, who had picked up the others. Famine switched to their swarm form, then flew off of Judgement's body. "Outlaw One to Technion Fighter Alpha, threat neutralised, you are clear to return to base," Cyclonio said to Alpha, letting them know Judgement had been taken care of and that it was safe to return back to Technonia. "Actually, before you go..." Cyclonio then said to Alpha, wanting to ask something.

"Are we allowed to keep this ship? We're kinda low on aircraft." Cyclonio asked, wanting to know if they had to return the Withered Conifer to the Technion after they were done with Judgement. "You kidding? Of course! Our leader might not have seen it, but General Alinion saw everything you guys did to save our home a year ago, it's fitting we give you SOMETHING to help you guys out!" Alpha said before the Technion and the Gemini Clone flew away from Elementalia. "There it is again... That Alinion Z mentioned in the tape, maybe he's in Technonia?" Medusa thought to herself, believing that Technonia was where she would find Alinion and Zealon's other friends. Cyclonio landed the ship a safe distance from Judgement before the group got out to see Judgement break apart and explode, some pieces being vaporised while some survived the blast.

"Is Valor okay?" Stheno asked, worried about the people that may have been caught in Judgement's destruction. However, as if Stheno had spoken too soon, a light appeared from where Judgement stood, causing the group to have to return to Valor to look at what was happening before them. Cyclonio flew over the beam of light, seeing a mechanical stickman, having emerged from the giant robot's head, look at the Withered Conifer. "That's gotta be Judgement's true form. But, how on Terra did it survive the explosion the giant body made?" Cyclonio said, then seeing Famine appear before the ship, not afraid of being rammed into or being shot at. "Didn't you hear what I said about Judgement before?" Famine said to the Outlaws, recalling the explanation he had given for Judgement when they first started fighting. "Judgement is beyond your comprehension. Much like my father, my siblings and I, they are an extradimensional being now, simple attacks are pathetic and useless."

"Man, Famine REALLY likes using Pathetic as an insult, huh?" Stheno thought to herself, counting how many times Famine had called something or someone pathetic during their fight. "That giant robot merely acted as a cocoon for this form, meaning not only is my job here done, but that Judgement will be able to easily shred all five of you now. Let's not keep them waiting, Judgement." Famine said, allowing Judgement to deal with the Outlaws as they returned to their layer of the Abyss in order to watch the fight from a safe area. For the first time since Zealon's passing, the Outlaws had absolutely no idea on how they would tackle Judgement. Was Famine bluffing? Could they actually harm Judgment in this form? Was it even possible to win against Judgement at this point? Would they end up losing another one of their friends to this enemy? Was Lenathor going to show up again and attempt to assist Judgement in any way possible? How were they going to defeat an opponent who was supposedly impervious to conventional attacks?

"What- what do we do, Cy?" Terrano asked Cyclonio, wondering if he had any ideas. Cyclonio then prepared every single weapon on the Withered Conifer to fire before looking at Terrano. "I'll tell you what we do, T." Cyclonio said, then looking at Judgement. "UNLOAD EVERYTHING WE HAVE ON THAT THING!" Cyclonio shouted before firing literally every single weapon aboard the Withered Conifer at Judgement. Cyclonio first fired conventional weaponry at Judgement before noticing the robot wasn't flinching a single bit. Cyclonio then fired the bunker-busters at Judgement, leaving behind a crater, but Judgement still seemed unfazed by the attack. "Crap, Famine wasn't joking..." Cyclonio thought to himself before thinking of another idea. He flipped a switch on the dashboard which revealed even more weapons to use. While most of them were conventional weaponry for the Technion, there was one which stood out from the rest, a button labelled: "Plasma Blaster".

Believing that Judgement would be damaged by such a weapon, Cyclonio activated the blaster, revealing a cannon underneath the Withered Conifer before firing a massive blue beam at Judgement. Interestingly enough, this was the only attack to make Judgement take some form of action, using his arm to deflect the beam towards a house nearby, creating a massive explosion where the house once was. "Let's just get to the point, Outlaws." Judgement said, catching everyone off guard, believing that Judgement wasn't capable of speech after having been killed by Famine when their chosen first started attacking Elementalia. "Like what Famine said, I am Elementalian Test Subject Twenty, Codename: Judgement. I was once a blank elemental, but after Famine cut me to pieces, my mind was transferred into this thing, with my remains being transferred in later on. I have only a single directive from Famine, that I must follow." Judgement then said to the Outlaws, catching Cyclonio's attention. "Wait... Blank Elemental? This guy never found his element? Hang on... Could it be?"

"And what's that directive?" Cyclonio said in a normal voice, devoid of any sarcasm that Cyclonio was known for. Judgement converted their left hand into a blaster before saying: "To eliminate anyone which stands in their way." and firing at The Withered Conifer, causing it to crash nearby. Judgement slowly walked towards the crash site, then grabbing an energy sword from their right leg and igniting it, revealing a violet blade of light that would be able to cut through any and everything that stood in Judgement's way. Judgement then prepared to cut down any of the Outlaws that may have survived the crash, knowing that at least one of them had survived. Unfortunately, or fortunately, none of the Outlaws had been killed by the crash. Cyclonio got back up, then coughed out any dust that had fallen into his mouth. "Jeez, the guy could have let us TRY and take him down before doing that," Cyclonio said, then helping the other Outlaws up to their feet before realising that Judgement was slowly walking towards the ship, this time holding what appeared to be a sword with a beam of light for a blade. "Odin's Spear, we gotta move! Judgement's getting closer!"

Medusa got back up, deciding that she would try and use Lenathor's powers to try and move Judgement away from them to stall for time. "Come on... This better work!" Medusa thought as she summoned a black hole behind Judgement, slightly pulling them away from the crashed Withered Conifer. "So one of you has The Magician's ability?" Judgement said, then somehow grabbing the black hole, and crushing it in his palm, shocking all of the Outlaws. "I'm having a hard time believing that you five managed to take out the others if this is what I'm up against." Judgement said, wondering how the Outlaws were able to take out so many of Famine's chosen if they were this weak compared to them. Cyclonio, being infuriated with what Judgement said, exited the crashed ship, looking at Judgement. "How about," Cyclonio said, flying towards Judgement and punching them in the face. "You," Cyclonio delivered an uppercut to Judgement, "Shut," Cyclonio then kicked Judgement in the face, "Your," Cyclonio flew back from Judgement, noticing that it looked like Judgement's head was loosening, preparing to kick Judgement's head clean off. "Traphole?!" Cyclonio then said, kicking Judgement's head as hard as possible.

However, what came off of Judgement, believed to be his head, was instead revealed to be something entirely different. "Huh? A- a mask?" Cyclonio said, then looking at who Judgement really was. "W-what?!" Cyclonio thought to himself, petrified upon finding out the true identity of Judgement. "No, no, no, no-no-no-no. It- it CAN'T be you, I- That was YOU Famine was talking about?!" Cyclonio thought to himself, trying to process what had just been revealed. "What's going on with Cy?" Stheno asked the others, noticing that he seemed to have stopped dead in his tracks. Terrano looked at Cy, then at Judgement's true identity before also looking in horror at who it was. "No freaking way... So it was HIM that Famine was talking about." Terrano said, both confusing and scaring the others. "Who?" Medusa said, getting more and more worried about who the mystery person was. "GUSTURO?!" Cyclonio said in horror, realising that Judgement, believed to be just a simple Blank Elemental, was, in fact, revealed to be Gusturo, his younger brother.

"I... I can't fight you, buddy. I don't wanna hurt you." Cyclonio said, backing away from Judgement, who simply looked at Cyclonio with a blank stare. "Cy, this body's memories lead me to believe that this mortal was once your brother, whether he was or not, his power on this body is gone. He's dead. Your attempts at trying to get through to me are futile. Give, it, up." Judgement said to Cyclonio, causing him to fall to his knees in disbelief, he had wondered why his brother had gone missing for so long, only for him to find them in this state, a fate that he believed was worse than death. "Now, to you four in the ship, allow me to show you what happens when you cross not just Famine, but Kronos, the Fallen Titan!" Judgement said, preparing to behead Cyclonio as a demonstration of what would happen if they continued to fight. However, at that moment, another voice came from Judgement. This one sounding different to the other. "Leave him alone!" The voice said, causing Judgement to lower their sword.

"Cy, bro, I- I don't know if you can hear me, but you can't just give up like this! It's not what I want, hell, it's not even what dad would want!" The voice, revealing itself to be Gusturo said, trying to encourage Cyclonio not to give up just yet. Cyclonio then looked back up at Judgement, Gusturo's face still visible. However, this time he could see his brother encouraging him to keep moving. The face then shifted back to Judgement's face, the blank expression, the sense of impending doom, everything that Gusturo wasn't. Cyclonio then got up and moved away from Judgement, confusing them. "You're right, Judgement." Cyclonio said, holding his hand out for something. "My brother is dead." The Withered Conifer fired something out of the top of the ship, then landing into Cyclonio's hand that he was holding out. Cyclonio activated the device, revealing it to be an energy sword, this time with a jade green blade. "But his spirit lives on through me!" Cyclonio said, causing Judgement to smile before putting their mask back on. "Alright then, you wanna play like that? So be it."

Judgement sealed up the Withered Conifer, to prevent any interference from the other Outlaws, before laughing at Cyclonio. "Let's dance, BROTHER." Judgement said, lunging at Cyclonio in an attempt to cut them into pieces. Cyclonio used his sword to deflect Judgement's blow, hearing the blades hissing as they clashed. Cyclonio swept Judgement's legs before trying to attack them. Judgement decided to sweep Cyclonio's legs as well before the two realised that pieces of Judgement's giant robot form were falling to the ground. Cyclonio, seeing an opportunity, used his air abilities to get back up to his feet before grabbing Judgment and allowing them to get hit by a piece of the giant robot. Cyclonio then threw Judgement to the ground, preparing to impale them with his sword. Judgement rolled out of the way before cutting Cyclonio's left shoulder, then laughing at the sight. "You know, this is actually fun!" Judgement said, getting back up to their feet.

Cyclonio looked at Judgement while clinging onto his left shoulder, knowing it wouldn't stop the bleeding, but trying to at least slow it down. "Oh, come on. A little cut? And you're clinging onto it as if I just ripped off your arm? This is going to be easier than I thought." Judgement said, switching their gun hand back to a normal hand and holding onto their sword with both of their hands. Cyclonio looked at Judgement, then laughed. "You think I'm giving up now? I'm just getting started, Judgement!" Cyclonio then lunged at Judgement, slashing at them as fast as he could. While some blows were blocked, Cyclonio managed to strike Judgement several times in the flurry of attacks. Judgement, instead of attacking Cyclonio, put away their sword and flew towards a large piece of the destroyed robot, picking it up and then throwing it at Cyclonio.

"What's going on out there, Stheno?" Medusa said, being unable to see the fight that was going on. Stheno watched in shock as Cyclonio used his sword to cut the piece of the robot into pieces, then using the hilt of the sword to knock Judgement away from him. "I don't know who's winning! It's going back and forth from Judgement and Cy!" Stheno said in response, then seeing Judgement throw Cyclonio into one of the ruined buildings in Valor. Cyclonio saw Judgement flying towards him before he began to think up of a plan. Cyclonio threw his sword at Judgement, before also flying at him. Cyclonio kicked Judgement in the head before using his elemental powers to cause the sword to fly towards Judgement's abdomen blade-first. The sword struck, going through Judgement as a result. Cyclonio grabbed the sword and moved away from Judgement as a result, preparing to continue fighting, knowing that simply impaling Judgement wouldn't do anything major to them.

Judgement simply stared at Cyclonio, then pointed at the part of their abdomen that had been damaged, revealing that it had healed and nothing major had happened to them. "Simple attacks won't work on me, Cy! You'll only fail! Just like how you all failed to save Zealon, you'll fail to defeat me, and I'll end up killing your friends trapped in that ball of metal there!" Judgement said, taunting Cyclonio by bringing up Zealon's demise, as well as exclaiming that he would fail to stop him. "I don't know if you got the memo, but literally everyone who's said that to us ended up either dead or running away from us like f**king cowards!" Cyclonio said, pointing out how all of Famine's chosen that had decided to say that had ended up being defeated by him and the other Outlaws. "Let's see if that statement holds up then, shall we?" Judgement said, slamming the ground and causing several bolts of lightning to erupt from the ground, revealing that Cyclonio wasn't the only air elemental capable of creating massive amounts of lightning at will. "Alright, he's still got the Hurricusso power within him. I just f**king jinxed myself, didn't I?" Cyclonio thought to himself, then using his lightning abilities to make sure that he was protected by Judgement's attack.

The two fired as much lightning as they could at one another, resulting in a massive ball of light being created where the bolts clashed. Eventually, both bolts exploded, resulting in an electrical storm surrounding the two. "Not bad for a basic elemental!" Judgement said, impressed by how long Cyclonio was holding out against him. Cyclonio, seeing it as a compliment, laughed. "Told you I was just getting started!" Meanwhile, in the Withered Conifer, the others were devising a way to get out of the ship and help out Cyclonio. However, just as they were about to go near the door, Judgement fired at the Outlaws, then saying to them: "There's a leaking fuel tank right next to you, you know! If that thing catches on fire you're all dead! I believe you'll need a way back to your base, won't you?" The Outlaws, not wanting to lose another ship, or end up dead, stood down to allow the two to continue fighting.

"So, you DO want it to be a one-on-one, huh? Didn't know robots were capable of having honour!" Cyclonio said, remarking how interesting it was for a robot to know and learn what honour was. "Didn't you hear Famine? I am far beyond a simple robot, Cy!" Judgement said, then summoning several spheres of pure energy to attack Cyclonio. "Alright, they're not nanobots, let's do this!" Cyclonio thought to himself, running towards Judgement while attempting to dodge the energy spheres. Cyclonio kicked Judgement in the head, then pulling out his pistol to shoot at them. Judgement got back up to their feet, seeing that Cyclonio was using his ranged weapon, they decided to use theirs. Judgement readied their arm cannon, then shot at Cyclonio. Cyclonio, knowing that he wasn't able to fire back at the energy shots being fired from Judgement, instead opted to dodge them and continue firing at Judgement. Eventually, Cyclonio had exhausted his pistol's magazine, forcing him to have to attack using his sword and elemental abilities.

"Out of ammo? Alright, back to sword combat we go!" Judgement said, igniting his energy sword again and running towards Cyclonio. Cyclonio, seeing an opportunity, conjured up an electrical storm that would possibly overload Judgement's circuits, that is, if Judgement really was a robot. "If this doesn't work, I think I'll have to wait for him to power down. But how long is that going to take? Wait. I wonder..." Cyclonio thought to himself, then flying away from Judgement, forcing the latter to have to follow them. "He might indeed be unstoppable, but maybe, just maybe, I can hold off his wrath for another day, maybe eternity?" Cyclonio thought to himself, then seeing the Outlaw base come into vision. Cyclonio then flew inside the base, then looking at the Outlaws' freezer, which was empty. "Perfect!" Cyclonio said, then hiding while waiting for Judgement to appear. Judgement flew into the base, looking around it for Cyclonio. They then stumbled across the kitchen area of the base, seeing the freezer open. "If you think that I'm just going to walk into the freezer, you're horribly mistaken."

"Oh, but you aren't walking in there, we're MAKING you go in there!" A voice that didn't sound like Cyclonio's said, puzzling Judgement. "Wait, how-" Judgement said, then turning around to see Medusa wielding the gun that Cyclonio had made from a repurposed turret, Terrano with an earthen mallet, Hydranian with two ice gauntlets and Stheno with both of her swords out, her snakes hissing at Judgement. "Fools..! This is why Terra's extinction must be made a reality!" Judgement said, then turning around to see Cyclonio wielding a rifle, which had been filled with the explosive bullets Zealon had made. "No, THIS is why Famine and the others should stay the f**k away from Terra!" Cyclonio said, then firing several bullets at Judgement's face, then kicking them towards Terrano, who hit them into the air so that Hydranian could punch them into Stheno's swords. The team attack was finished by Medusa firing the turret at Judgement, somehow damaging their physical form and sending them into the freezer.

"What?! Impossible!" Judgement said, then trying to fight the Outlaws as they attempted to close the freezer on Judgement. "I will NOT go out like this! I will not allow myself to be defeated in this manner, I swear on it!" Judgement said, trying to fire at the Outlaws, only for Cyclonio to shove a carrot in the hole of Judgement's arm cannon. "Oh, stick a carrot in it, will you?" Cyclonio said, trying to insult Judgement and make a joke of him at the same time. Judgement then attempted to push the freezer door open, to counter the force of all of the Outlaws trying to push the door closed. "Stheno, you know what to do!" Terrano said before Stheno fired up her rocket boots, increasing the amount of force that the Outlaws were putting on the door, which ended up overpowering Judgement, sealing the freezer door shut. Hydranian then covered the freezer in ice, while Terrano surrounded it in metal, just in case Judgement was able to break out.

Judgement, in one final attempt to break out, attempted to fuse the freezer into himself, but even that proved ineffective, as the freezer hadn't been completely made of metal, meaning that Judgement would only be weakened by the freezer. Judgement tried pulling the carrot out of his arm cannon, knowing that if he tried firing the cannon it would be destroyed. However, that too, proved ineffective, as Cyclonio had somehow ended up creating a vacuum in the space of the cannon, meaning that the carrot was well and truly stuck in Judgement's arm cannon, also meaning that Judgement was unable to convert the cannon back into one of his hands. Judgement continued to try and find ways to break out of the freezer, but amazingly, it appeared as if the Outlaws had designed this freezer to counter everything Judgement had against it.

Judgement let out a sigh, then looked at the inside of the freezer, then at himself. For the first time in what had felt like forever, this was no longer Judgement's personality, this was Gusturo's, or at the very least, what Judgement remembered of Gusturo's personality. "So, THIS is how I go out. In a freezer, alone, nobody to comfort me, nobody to mourn for me. I'm back to the way it was when I first went into the damned experiment. If only, I had managed to figure out that my element was Air the whole time, maybe I wouldn't have been stuck in this... This thing. The modifications that Death had given to me forces me to have to shut down once my internal temperature reaches below freezing point. I already know that I'm gonna be in here, in this freezer, surrounded by ice and sealed with metal for a long time. I was too confident with what I had. I AM impervious to conventional weaponry, but this? This is different. I... I wish I could take it all back. But, I can't. This is what I've become. I can't just turn myself into Gusturo. This is how I go out. Slowly shutting down as the area around me gets colder and colder."

Then, Judgement heard someone put their hand on the metal that was containing the ice and the freezer. "You may not be Gusturo, but, at the end of the day, you're still my brother. Or, at the very least, what's left of him. I suppose I should probably say this now, I'm sorry that, you ended up becoming this thing, this, monster. You didn't deserve to become this horrifying thing, buddy. I'm heartbroken that of all the people, Famine had to pick you, Gus. You had to be the one turned into a robot, then converted into the thing you are now because of what Death did. You didn't deserve that fate, nobody deserves that fate. You saw my face when I realised that we were fighting you the whole time. That giant robot, the nanobots, that was all you. My little brother had become the biggest threat to Inamorta in history. I had to stop you somehow. I could never live with the thought of being the one responsible for my brother's death. So, I put you on the ice. Please, understand." Cyclonio said, then walking away from the freezer.

Judgement, having realised that as a result of Death's upgrades, they were slowly becoming more and more human, simply muttered: "I do," before closing their eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Judgement wished for the shutdown to be a fast one, as to not cause him much trouble. The fuel of his CPU slowly but gradually diminished, soon, empty. Judgement, the failsafe of the Grim Armada, as well as Elementalian Test Subject Twenty, was left completely and utterly useless, if not for a long time, then for forever. Famine, having witnessed the whole conversation, was left silent at what had happened. "Damn... I'd get angry at the fact that Judgement lost, but, I... I guess I agree with what Cyclonio did. This was the best way out, for both of them." Famine said, then going over to review which Elementals were left in his arsenal. However, just as he was about to send out the next elemental, he got a message via telepathy.

"This is Zero-Four to Famine, do you copy?" The voice asked Famine, confusing them.

"Famine reading, you're alive? How?" Famine asked the voice, knowing exactly who it was. The figure, responsible for contacting Famine looked at the remains of Judgement's giant robot form.

"Fire, lots and lots of fire." The Hierophant said, then ending communication with Famine. "Alright, Medusa." The Hierophant said to himself, smiling.

"Let's have a little rematch."

Chapter XI: Message Of Revenge

"Can anyone hear us? This is what's left of the Elementalian Laboratory, one of the elementals, I- I don't know which one, but they somehow found us! There's only two of us left! We need help!" An Elementalian scientist said, seeing one of his friends get impaled by a massive emerald pillar, as well as an Earth Elemental punch one of his other friends into the pillar, shattering their bones. "Our coordinates are playing over this, get here, quick! I don't know how long it's gonna be until they find me, but more likely than not, I'm a lost cause. Outlaws, if you get this, you NEED to take them out. I don't know, but I'm pretty sure they're looking for one of you!" The scientist said before broadcasting the distress signal around Terra and turning their recorder off. However, just as they attempted to escape from where they were, The Hierophant trapped them in an emerald box, then walking up to them. "You haven't forgotten the abilities that you had given me, did you?" The Hierophant asked the scientist, the latter shaking their head in response.

"Good, so tell me. WHERE is that vial that's gonna let me use all of my power?" The Hierophant asked the scientist.

"T-the vials? They're back at the lab, I think Famine destroyed them or something!" The scientist said before The Hierophant crushed the scientist inside the box, instead deciding that they would instead search for it at the lab themselves. The Hierophant turned into their version of a Chompler, appearing as an emerald Kraken-like organism instead of the traditional crustacean-like Chompler that the earth elementals were known to transform into before heading towards the ruins of the Elementalian Lab, which had somehow not collapsed from all of the damage that had been done to it already.

Meanwhile, back in the Outlaws' base, Cyclonio had let out a sigh before preparing what looked like several tubes used to transport liquid nitrogen out the front of the base. "Terrano, help me out here," Cyclonio said as he prepared to lift up the metal box that Judgement was housed within. "Cy, are you sure? You know that there IS the chance that he's just gonna come out and lob your head off as soon as you open that box, right?" Terrano said, trying to deter Cyclonio from potentially releasing Judgement from their icy prison. "Judgement's been shut down. These tubes should be able to put out enough liquid nitrogen to keep him dormant for about a thousand years. Hopefully, this war's gonna be long over by then. Now, get the box open, will you?" Cyclonio said, then smiling at Terrano.

Terrano let out a mix between a laugh and a sigh before opening the box Judgement was contained in. Cyclonio then attached the tubes that would course liquid nitrogen through Judgement. "Well, there's that," Cyclonio said, walking away from Judgement's body, which was hanging from the tubes. Terrano, confused, asked: "That's it? You're not going to, you know, make sure that nobody can attack him?"

"Taken care of. I've set a clock for a thousand years from now. If Judgement or the machine is tampered with before then, this whole place goes under." Cyclonio said, then walking back into the base with Terrano, taking one last look at Judgement, seeing them as just Gusturo, asleep. Waiting for the time when maybe, the world would no longer need them as its destroyer, but as its saviour. However, just as Cyclonio went back inside, he noticed that the base was filled with what appeared to be an emerald green gas that made anyone in its range horribly sick. Cyclonio used his air abilities to remove the gas from the base, ensuring that none of the Outlaws would end up getting sick from the gas. "What the hell's going on?" Stheno said, seeing the atmosphere slowly turn green. "No clue, you think it might be one of the elementals?" Hydranian said, looking outside.

"Maybe, but which one?" Stheno said in response, flipping through the files to see if they had any clue as to which of the elementals it was. "No elemental since The Hermit's had a worldwide effect! None of them lines up with whatever this is!"

"Do you think it might be the Hierophant?" Medusa asked Stheno, wondering if the green "poison" had come from the Hierophant, who hadn't truly died. "There's no way, wouldn't he still be frozen?" Cyclonio said, believing that the Hierophant wouldn't have broken out of their icy prison just yet. "It may actually, that attack from Death might have been enough to free him," Hydranian said, concerned with the fact that the Hierophant had gotten stronger since their last fight. "Oh, don't worry! We've ALL gone well beyond our limits! This guy's nothing compared to us now! I say that we go there and whoop his ass again!" Medusa said, confident that whatever the Hierophant had to throw at them now, they'd be able to easily defeat him. "Oh, what the hell, leave no stone unturned! Let's go!" Cyclonio said, firing up the ship and flying towards a ruined Valor, whose residents appeared to be gasping for air, while others were on the ground, dead.

"What the- Someone scan whatever that gas is, it's killing everyone down there!" Terrano said before Cyclonio had the Withered Conifer run an analysis of the atmosphere, his jaw then dropping to the ground when he found out what was in the atmosphere. "Y-you guys might not believe me when I say this... But that stuff in the atmosphere? That's a combination of uranium and plutonium." Cyclonio said in utter shock, realising why the people down below seemed to be suffocating to death. "Oh dear god, we NEED to find the Hierophant before everyone ends up dead!" Stheno said, oblivious to what uranium and plutonium in the atmosphere meant for Elementalia. "That's the problem, even if we stop him, Elementalia's gonna be dead land for a really long time. That "gas" is gonna settle into the ground and contaminate EVERYTHING." Cyclonio said in horror, explaining to the others the stakes that were in place because of the Hierophant's return.

"You mean... Everything here... It's all just gonna... Die?" Medusa said in disbelief, realising that the Hierophant had succeeded in completing Famine's goal of destroying Elementalia. "We may as well have already lost..." The Hierophant then noticed the Withered Conifer flying over Valor, smiling to himself. The Hierophant, knowing that he had caused the Outlaws to fall into despair from seeing the beginning of Elementalia's end, said to himself: "I wonder if they liked my little welcoming gift?" Then, a Chompler, presumably one which The Hierophant had managed to sway to his side, burrowed out of the ground next to The Hierophant. "Lerofante, let me know if our guests decide to land and confront me. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the suffering around us."

Lerofante, The Hierophant's henchman, burrowed back into the ground and waited for the Withered Conifer to land, exactly following his orders. Cyclonio looked around in horror, seeing Elementals around him suffocating to death from the "gas", while others watched in horror from their homes, seeing their neighbours die. Cyclonio pressed a button on the Withered Conifer, revealing five hazmat suits. "Put these on, it's the only way we'll be able to fight the Hierophant with this stuff around us," Cyclonio said as Terrano landed the Withered Conifer. The five put on the hazmat suits before attempting to exit the Withered Conifer. However, something was wrong, as they felt the ground slowly beginning to sink around them. "What the hell?" Hydranian said, feeling the ground sinking. "Oh, no you don't!" Terrano said, having the earth around them rise up and harden, stopping whatever was happening.

Lerophant shrieked upon realising what had happened before scurrying back to the Hierophant to inform him of the situation. "What? You mean the earth just rose?" The Hierophant asked Lerophant, the latter nodding in worry. However, the Hierophant then got a message from Famine which had the answers as to what was going on. "The Hanged Man's betrayed us, Hierophant, that's all I'm going to say. They're working with them now." Famine said to the Hierophant telepathically, informing them of why the earth had retaliated to Lerophant's attack. "Oh, of COURSE, Hanged Man's back on their side! Things just got much, much worse, for both of us." The Hierophant said, deciding that he would attempt to tag-team the Outlaws alongside Lerophant.

The five exited the ship before seeing a massive emerald being thrown at the ship. "THAT'S GONNA HIT-" Cyclonio said, realising that the emerald was about to hit them and destroy the Withered Conifer. However, Terrano stepped in and resisted against the emerald's velocity, attempting to push it away from the ship and his friends. Terrano ended up using all of his power, even beginning to cause him to start bleeding. "Go... guys..!" Terrano said, struggling to say anything from how hard the emerald had been thrown at the group. The Outlaws, except for Terrano, jumped down from the pillar, preparing to fight the Hierophant, whom of which all four believed had gotten much stronger since the last time they had clashed.

"That emerald should keep him busy, now... For the other four," The Hierophant said before deciding to transform into his Kraken form to confront the remaining four Outlaws. Lerophant followed, "swimming" through the ground towards the Outlaws. "Long time no see, Outlaws!" The Hierophant said before grabbing the four using his tentacles. The Hierophant slammed the four into the ground before allowing Lerophant to deliver a fast flurry of punches to whichever Outlaw he chose. Cyclonio was the victim of this flurry, feeling every single punch that connected, while The Hierophant continued to torment the other three. However, this stopped briefly when Hydranian attempted to freeze his tentacles. "That little trick doesn't work anymore, Hydranian!" The Hierophant said before trying to attack Hydranian again.

"Hang on a minute, he's a Kraken! My people have ALWAYS wanted to take down something like that!" Hydranian said, forming a packed ice cutlass and looking at the massive emerald squid that stood before him. "But why? What are you getting out of killing a Kraken?" Stheno asked before Hydranian smiled at The Hierophant and let out a hearty laugh. "Simple, Stheno. Because the bigger the Kraken... The bigger the respect!" Hydranian said, summoning an ice flintlock, not bothering to explain how it worked and firing at the Hierophant. "You two go help out Cy! I'll deal with this barnacle!" Hydranian said, continuing to shoot at the Hierophant. Listening to Hydranian, Stheno and Medusa rushed to Cyclonio's aid. "You're kidding me, right? He's doing the pirate thing on me? You know what, that's just gonna make him easier to kill, bring it on!" The Hierophant thought to himself, before roaring at Hydranian and throwing him into the water, where he would simply drown Hydranian.

However, Hydranian welcomed this opportunity, creating a large pirate ship made entirely of ice, complete with ice golem crewmates and cannons. "Crew, aim all cannons on that beast!" Hydranian shouted before staring down the Hierophant. "Wow, he's really getting into this whole pirate thing. Wait- Don't get sidetracked! Just kill him!" The Hierophant thought to himself before attempting to grab Hydranian with his tentacles. However, Hydranian jumped up, landing on the tentacle. "Slimy... I see you've done your homework!" Hydranian shouted before stabbing his cutlass into the tentacle, trying to sever the brain within. "But did you forget how many brains the Kraken houses?" Hydranian then said before running up the now dead tentacle, heading towards the Hierophant's head. Then, a large storm started brewing around the Hierophant and Hydranian's ship, throwing both sides off course.

Meanwhile, Medusa threw a knife at Lerophant, hitting their elbow, which would only end up digging further and further into his arm. "What the- This guy's not flinching!" Medusa said, baffled at the fact that Lerophant didn't even notice that they were stabbed by a knife. "Maybe he'll notice THIS!" Stheno said, grabbing her sword and hitting Lerophant with it, sending massive amounts of electricity into them. Strangely enough, however, this too didn't affect Lerophant. "This is getting weirder by the second..." Stheno said to herself, then seeing the storm brewing where Hydranian was. "Hope Ian's doing well," Stheno said, not realising what was happening to the Hierophant because of the damage done to Lerophant.

Meanwhile, as Hydranian and his ice golem crew were fighting the Hierophant, Hydranian noticed that it appeared as if the Hierophant had gotten electrocuted, by means currently unknown, as the storm hadn't yet hit either side with a lightning bolt. "What the hell was that?" Hydranian said to himself before simply shrugging it off and continuing to fight the Hierophant. "Away with ye, the scum of the sea!" Hydranian said in a heavily exaggerated pirate voice, trying to make a joke out of the fight. The Hierophant, slowly starting to get annoyed with Hydranian's pirate impression, decided to ramp up their Kraken abilities, they submerged their body into the sea, forcing Hydranian back onto their ship, so that they could witness the monster that was about to appear before them.

A massive rumbling of the sea was felt by the ship, creating massive waves that would have almost certainly thrown any normal ship into the sea. Then, several massive tentacles burst from the sea, ensnaring Hydranian's ship. "All hands on deck, men!" Hydranian said, ordering the golems to prepare for whatever was coming from the sea. "Aye aye, Captain!" The crew said, loading up and preparing to fire the cannons at the Hierophant Kraken. Then, from the depths of the sea, a heavily twisted version of the Hierophant's upper body, covered with screaming faces, arose from the water, roaring at Hydranian. "LET'S FINISH THIS, "CAPTAIN" HYDRANIAN!" The Hierophant screamed at Hydranian before preparing for a fight.

"Crew! Unload as many cannons as possible on that beast! We can't let his plan succeed!" Hydranian said, his crew nodding to show that they understood his demand.

"Oh, but it already has!" The Hierophant said, then unleashing a massive storm of green "gas" into the atmosphere, combining with the already existing storm to create a deadly concoction of acid rain, uranium and plutonium dust. Hydranian then summoned another ice cutlass before preparing to fight this colossus of a creature. "This is going to be fun!" Hydranian said before jumping from his ship, landing on one of the tentacles and stabbing it. Hydranian, through the cutlass, then realised that he no longer looked like what typical water elementals look like. Instead, he now appeared to be what he called an Ice Elemental, a Water Elemental that had managed to combine Earth Elemental knowledge with their mastery of Water. "Hang on... was this from those vials me and Cy drank?" Hydranian thought to himself, looking at his new look. "I wonder what's happening to Cy?" Hydranian then thought before freezing one of the Hierophant's tentacles.

Medusa and Stheno instead opted to pull Cyclonio out of Lerophant's grasp before realising that it appeared as if Lerophant had frozen. "He's stopped moving! Let's get him out of there!" Medusa said before she and Stheno threw Cyclonio away from Lerophant so that he could recover. Terrano, who had managed to stop the massive emerald from hitting the Withered Conifer, ran towards the three. "I'm here, what's going on- Whoa, Cy, you might want to check your face in a mirror," Terrano said, then realising that Cyclonio looked different from how he usually did. "What? I didn't get a black eye, did I?"

"Oh- Well... No, but- uh, you still might want to look at yourself." Stheno said, converting her cyborg eye into a mirror so that Cyclonio could see what he looked like now. "What the hell?" Cyclonio said, realising that his Air Elemental icon had somewhat warped, appearing more like a glowing orb, akin to that of a V, instead of his typical icon. "What the heck's this?! Wait... Oh lord," Cyclonio said, putting his hand on his cheek and realising what he may have just become. "I think I might have just been an Energy Elemental the whole time, it's just that vial I drank when we fought the Magician for the first time only kicked in JUST now," Cyclonio said, unimpressed at the revelation. Terrano, confused, asked: "But aren't Energy Elementals, I don't know, incredibly rare among the other elements?"

"Yep, but that doesn't mean they're STRONG, per se!" Cyclonio said, leading Terrano to believe that he was angry at the fact he was an Energy Elemental. "However... Energy Elementals ARE known for their limitless potential..." Cyclonio then said, charging up for an attack. Medusa and Stheno tag-teamed Lerophant, sometimes electrocuting him, other times cutting his limbs off. But it was to no avail, Lerophant seemed to be immune to Stheno's sword while he simply just grew back his limbs. Lerophant then grabbed both Medusa and Stheno on the leg before slamming both of them into the ground at full force. Cyclonio then showed Terrano what an Energy Elemental was capable of, using the energy around him to create a sword that appeared to be made of lightning. He then impaled Lerophant as hard as he could, causing Lerophant to shriek in pain.

Meanwhile, the Hierophant felt the full brunt of Cyclonio's attack, causing two of his tentacles to shrivel up and die. "Wait... That's the others doing that! Perfect!" Hydranian said, realising what was going on before continuing to fight the Hierophant. Medusa was about to be thrown at Hydranian's ship by Terrano, who was adjusting their throw. "Alright... Throw me now!" Medusa said before Terrano threw Medusa at Hydranian's ship, allowing her to join the fight against the Hierophant while Cyclonio, Terrano and Stheno fought Lerophant. Medusa landed on Hydranian's ship, alerting his crew to an intruder. "Captain! Intruder on deck!" Hydranian turned around to see Medusa running towards Hydranian. "It's alright! She's with me!" Hydranian said before throwing Medusa an ice cutlass. "What took ya?" Hydranian said, smirking at Medusa. Medusa laughed a little as she caught the cutlass. "Had to deal with the Chompler, let's finish this!"

"So, the mademoiselle has joined the fight, have they?" The Hierophant asked, looking at Medusa.

"Yep, and we left some business unfinished last time us two fought!"

"I couldn't agree more. Let's finish this!" The Hierophant summoned several Emerald Chomplers to dispose of Medusa while he fought off Hydranian. "What the- When could he do this?" Medusa asked herself before shrugging it off. Medusa, along with the ice cutlass, grabbed one of her daggers, infusing it with venom despite believing it would be useless against the constructs. "Alright, men! The captain's got the Kraken covered! Help his friend any way possible!" Hydranian's First Mate said, landing on the Hierophant along with a small band of Hydranian's crew. Hydranian's crew nodded before they each fought an Emerald Chompler. Medusa looked up at Hydranian, who simply nodded to her. "Alright, let's do this!" Medusa said, grabbing one of the Emerald Chomplers and using it against the others before cutting down that chompler.

Cyclonio and Lerophant clashed, both trying not to get hit in any way from one another while Stheno and Terrano attempted to incapacitate Lerophant as a way of helping Cyclonio. Cyclonio then used his newfound energy abilities to fire a beam of concentrated plasma at Lerophant, forcing him to have to either deflect or block the beam using his body. However, at that moment, Terrano threw a massive emerald, the very same one that was supposed to destroy the Withered Conifer, at Lerophant, cutting him in half. However, this would end up leading to something much, much worse. Inside of what was believed to be Lerophant, the real Lerophant, a massive, emerald crab emerged. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Terrano said, looking at the real Lerophant. Lerophant attempted to crush Stheno and Terrano, only for Terrano to push against Lerophant's claw. "Hang on... What's one weakness these giants all have in common?" Cyclonio thought to himself, looking at Lerophant. "I wonder..."

Hydranian and Medusa each took turns at attacking the Hierophant's tentacles, sometimes even managing to cause a large amount of damage to him. "You two take care of the crab! I'm helping Ian and Medusa out!" Cyclonio said, flying towards the Hierophant as fast as he could. Terrano and Stheno prepared to fend off against Lerophant long enough so that all five of the Outlaws were able to finish off the Hierophant for good. "I don't know what's going on... But I'll make sure that you and your buddy NEVER see your victory!" Terrano said, holding a massive emerald in his hand. "So, I'm fighting literal seafood, huh? Bring it on, Crabby!" Stheno said, getting her swords out and activating her snakes.

Cyclonio punched the Hierophant in the face, throwing off Hydranian, Medusa and Hydranian's crew. The Hierophant regained their balance before roaring at Cyclonio. "Jeez, you got big! Ugly, too!" Cyclonio said before punching The Hierophant again. The two continued to fight, allowing Medusa and Hydranian time to cut off all of the Hierophant's tentacles so that he would be easier to fight. Medusa then used Lenathor's void abilities to try and forcefully rip off one of the tentacles, while waves battered both sides, forcing them to have to adapt their strategies accordingly. Hydranian used the water around the Hierophant to hold him in place while using more water to freeze-dry the tentacles, causing some to fall off, while others managed to break free. "Damn you, I WON'T LOSE TO YOU AGAIN, HYDRANIAN!" The Hierophant said, grabbing Hydranian and attempting to rip him apart.

"I got him!" Cyclonio said, using the energy around him to create one massive lightning bolt that struck the Hierophant, electrocuting him and causing all of his tentacles to wither away. "Curse you... Hurricusso... Curse... You..!" The Hierophant said on the verge of death to Cyclonio, then preparing to kill the Outlaws in one last final attack. The Hierophant destroyed Hydranian's ship before releasing into the atmosphere as much uranium-plutonium gas as possible, then forcefully ripping the trio's hazmat suits to shreds. While this wouldn't be an issue, due to Cyclonio's presence, as he was no longer an Air Elemental, he couldn't create a breathable atmosphere to protect from the gas. "S**t... This is literally the only chance I've got to finish him off!" Cyclonio thought to himself, before realising that the Hierophant had put up a massive barrier of emeralds to protect him.

"You haven't gotten it yet, have you?" The Hierophant said to the trio, confusing all three of them. "What Cyclonio analysed was correct, this gas that is around you WAS a fusion of powdered uranium and plutonium. But, I've now altered it so that instead, it acts as an agent, inhibiting an Elemental's capabilities. Forever." The Hierophant said, then turning to Elementalia. "I suppose I shouldn't have to remind you of which direction the wind is blowing, should I?" The three realised in horror what was going to happen, as the uranium-plutonium gas settled and people began exiting their houses to check what was going on. "YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, DON'T YOU?!" The Hierophant then said, slowly beginning to lose himself, much like the Magician.

"THAT MEANS THAT WHEN ALL OF THOSE OBLIVIOUS IDIOTS WALK OUTSIDE, THEY WON'T BE BREATHING IN THAT FRESH, CRISP AIR, THEY'LL BE BREATHING IN MY ANTI-ELEMENT COMPOUND, AND THEN WHEN THE AIR ELEMENTALS TRY AND STOP MORE PEOPLE FROM BREATHING IT IN? THEY'LL BE THE FIRST TO REALISE THAT THEY'VE JUST FALLEN VICTIM TO MY POWER!" The Hierophant said, slowly turning into a shadow of the Magician, as well as Temperance, who had accompanied him when they first clashed with the Outlaws. "THEY'LL ALL BE WORTHLESS, WEAK, STICKMEN! NOT ELEMENTALS, THEY'LL BE THOSE PATHETIC THINGS OVER AT MAINLAND INAMORTA! AND THEN WHEN FAMINE SEES MY SUCCESS, I'LL BE HIS ONE CHOSEN, ABOVE ALL OF THESE OTHER WEAKLINGS!" The Hierophant then said, revealing his true intentions to the Outlaws, wanting to be Famine's one and only Chosen, above the likes of the Magician, High Priestess and even the Emperor.

"That's where you're wrong, Hierophant," Medusa said, snapping the Hierophant out of his breakdown and staring him down. Medusa then walked through the barrier erected by the Hierophant and staring directly into his eyes once again. "You might not have realised it when we first met, but it was because of these "Pathetic Things" over at the mainland that I even decided to walk on this path of redemption. It was because of someone who gave up his life to save ALL of us, we've even gotten this far in the first place! If you think we're just gonna stand by and watch you take away everything the Elementals have worked towards..." Medusa said, then seeing Cyclonio charge up a massive energy attack before saying: "You're HORRIBLY mistaken!" and directing the attack at the Hierophant's right eye, destroying it, leaving him blind in one eye and causing the barrier around the Hierophant to be destroyed, leaving him vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Stheno and Terrano finished tearing Lerophant to pieces, having managed to tear the crab apart from his underbelly, dealing massive damage to his organs, as well as his muscles. "The crab's down, Cy. What now?" Stheno asked Cyclonio over the Outlaws' earpieces, then overhearing the Hierophant, who was screaming in pain from the gunshot. "Get everyone in Elementalia inside their houses! There's a massive cloud of gas that'll straight up DESTROY any elemental prowess anyone's got!" Cyclonio said loud enough so that even Terrano could hear him. "I'll take the south side of Valor, you get everyone else!" Terrano said, then heading towards Southern Valor as fast as he could to stop any elementals from exiting their homes. Meanwhile, Hydranian began to freeze as much of what was left of the Hierophant as he could, eventually reaching his head.

"Damn it... So I couldn't get my revenge on them. Damn it... None of this would've happened to me if it hadn't been for that accident." The Hierophant thought to himself, regaining his humanity in his last moments. The Hierophant's Kraken form was fully frozen before both Hydranian and Cyclonio looked at the frozen body. "This time?" Hydranian said before forming a massive hammer made of packed ice.

"You AREN'T coming back!" Cyclonio said, before flying into the Hierophant as fast as he could. Both Hydranian's hammer and Cyclonio's slam hit the Hierophant as hard as possible, shattering the frozen body, as well as killing the Hierophant almost instantly, the remains of the Hierophant being destroyed in a display of what seemed like snow to Medusa, Hydranian and Cyclonio. "It's over..." Medusa said to herself, seeing the remains of the Hierophant slowly fly away into the wind. "The Hierophant's been taken care of, how's the quarantine going?" Medusa then said to Stheno and Terrano over her earpiece.

"South's nearly in full isolation. Save for a few stragglers, but they'll get inside their houses." Terrano said, looking at the empty streets of Southern Valor. "Should I see if I can get some Air Elementals to help move the gas towards Inamorta where it won't do anything major?" Stheno asked Medusa, wondering if the Air Elementals would be able to safely move the gas away from Elementalia. "Get them to wear gas masks, otherwise, wait for it to safely pass," Cyclonio said over the intercom before grabbing Medusa and Hydranian and flying towards the Withered Conifer. "We NEED to get to the ship before that gas does, otherwise we might as well be normal Stickmen," Cyclonio said, flying as fast as he could to Valor so that they could wear gas masks to properly combat the gas quickly approaching Elementalia.

Several air elementals, all wearing gas masks, approached the incoming gas cloud, while earth elementals covered Valor in a large earthen box. "Alright, redirect that gas over to Chromania! There ain't any elementals over there!" Cyclonio said to the air elementals as they began to divert the wind to instead blow south towards Chromania. Hydranian got the water elementals to seal up the waterways in Valor for the time being while the fire elementals provided sources of light. "Valor's all clear in here! Just give us the good to go and we'll get everyone back to their normal lives, hopefully!" Medusa said, not realising that three of Famine's chosen, the Tower, Chariot and Justice, were also inside Valor. "Do you want us to do something yet, Famine?" Justice asked Famine, looking at both the Tower and Chariot, who towered over a runt of a Water Elemental compared to him. "Not yet, Justice. The Hierophant attempted to wipe everyone's elements out, wait for that cloud of gas to pass."

The air elementals redirected the element-removal gas towards Chromania, before making sure through the use of Cyclonio's radiation detector that the gas had been removed from the direction of Elementalia. "All clear, open it up, guys," Cyclonio said before seeing the earth box around Valor crumble, as well as the waterways being reopened. Cyclonio then breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Valor safe from what was probably the worst attack right before Death and Judgement's attack end without almost no damage being done to Elementalia. Cyclonio then flew down to Valor to meet with the other Outlaws, who were busy helping anyone who had been struck with the Hierophant's uranium-plutonium dust. "Finally, some time to rest," Cyclonio said, then going over to Outlaw HQ to have a quick nap from exhaustion.

"The dust's cleared, my liege." The Chariot said to Famine, informing them that the Hierophant's attack had been moved away from Elementalia. Famine smiled, before saying: "Good, you three know what you need to do?" Famine asked the Chariot.

"Yes, the only issue is Tower and I are a bit worried that Justice is going to fall behind."

"Hey, I can hear you, you know!" Justice said, hurt by what the Chariot said.

"Be nice to Justice, he's just as helpful to our cause as both of you are. All three of you are some form of Ice Elemental, the exact same thing Hydranian is, I'm hoping that where the Sun and Moon failed, you three will succeed. DO NOT disappoint me." Famine said, then going over to The Star and The World, the former playing chess with The Emperor while the latter watched. "Star, I need you to list what elementals we've got left, I'm starting to lose track." Famine said to The Star, then seeing that The Star was about to beat The Emperor.

"The only elementals we've got left that aren't out yet are The Wheel of Fate and us, sire. Almost all of us have been rendered useless or killed by either the Outlaws or Euryale." The Star said, realising that almost everyone had been used already.

"Wait, we're the only ones that are left?!" The Empress said in horror, overhearing the Star's revelation. The Star, worried what The Empress would do, nodded. "Oh, f**k this, WE'RE GOING OUT THERE! They need all the help they need, Famine!"

"Aqui, calm down!" The Emperor said, holding down the Empress. "Maybe we are the only ones left, but Famine's probably got an idea up their sleeve!"

"Does it look like I care, Valoroso?! Who the hell are you two, anyway?! We were made into these... These THINGS by those stupid scientists! We're all doomed to die! We're disposable!" The Empress then said, asking for the real names of both The Star and The World before saying to both The Emperor and Famine that all of the elementals were going to end up dying in one way or another. "I mean, look what happened to the guy that Lenathor ended up fusing with! That isn't him anymore, that's Lenathor! We gave a genocidal maniac a new body! What about Gusturo? That kid is gonna end up seeing everyone that he loves DIE in front of him, and he'll never be able to reunite with them because he's an immortal machine! We've all been screwed over by these stupid scientists in one way or another! And YOU, Famine, you've just made it a billion times worse for all of us-"

Famine, having had enough of The Empress' rant, literally ripped her apart down to the last atom, shocking both the Emperor and Star, while The World stared blankly at what was happening. "Don't look too surprised, she isn't completely dead. Her conscience still exists, all I've done is temporarily destroy her physical form." Famine said to both the Star and Emperor, then noticing The World not even batting an eye as a result of what they had seen. "I see at least one of you understands what's going on here." Famine said, causing both the Star and Emperor to look at The World. The Emperor, angry, shouted at The World: "Are you really not saying anything?!" The World simply looked at The Emperor before looking back at the chess table.

The Empress then reformed, gasping for air. "What the hell was that?!" The Empress said before being hugged by The Emperor. "I had enough of your ranting for one lifetime. Now, are you done?" Famine said before asking the Empress if she was done ranting. "Yes, I am."

"Good god... Famine's going THIS far to silence our opinions? Did he ever care?" The Emperor thought to himself, seeing the Empress bowing out of fear before Famine's "feet". The Star and The World, however, returned to the game of chess, waiting for the Emperor's next move. "You're kidding me... You too, Star? You've joined The World in not focusing on what the hell just happened to Aqui?" The Emperor thought to himself in horror, realising that none of the other elementals bothered to care about the temporary death of the Empress. "GET OVER IT, EMPEROR," A voice in the Emperor's head said to him, catching him off guard. "WHAT WE'RE WITNESSING IS SOMETHING WHICH THE EMPRESS SAID HERSELF, WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE EVENTUALLY. GROW UP, YOU MANCHILD," The voice said again, only confusing him further. The voice didn't sound like Famine's voice, or The Star's, and The World was out of the picture because all of the elementals knew that his vocal cords had been shredded in an accident before he was corrupted by Famine. Believing it to be Kronos, The Emperor simply nodded before going on with his chess game.

"Tower, do you copy?" The Chariot asked The Tower, who was on the other side of Elementalia at the time.

"What?! Did we finally get the go-ahead from Famine?" The Tower said, irritated with having to wait for so long.

"Actually, that's what I was going to bring up. Forget about the go-ahead. They're all out here, celebrating. They're vulnerable. To hell with what Famine said. It's about time we put an end to the elementals."

"YOU- Actually, that isn't half a bad idea, I like it."

"So it's settled, then?"

"You bloody well bet it is,"

"Very well, let's finish this."

Chapter XII: Triple Threat

"This is Elementalian Scientist Twenty-Three, name: Avalos. Test Subject Sixteen, codename Tower has been showing some good progress, having been injected with both the remains of one of those Twisted things as well as one of the Elemental Augmenters. However, they have been experiencing mood swings, possibly as a result of the Twisted remains. These seem minor, but if it manages to become the same problem that the people in Marrowkai territory had faced a year ago, we have a serious problem on our hands." Avalos, one of the Elementalian Scientists in a recording said, explaining what had been modified with The Tower to a potential viewer.

"Test Subject Seven, the Chariot, while an already incredibly powerful Water Elemental, has also been administered a highly potent variant of Elemental Augmenter, in the hopes that it will at least put his elemental capabilities on par, if not, greater than that of even the almighty V. While Chariot here is a cocky individual, disobeying the scientists who want to see his full power, we are obviously still in the process of refining these elementals in the hopes that they'll be fit for combat, but for now-" Avalos said before hearing a distinct: "How about I help?" from one of the rooms around the corner, as well as the screams of some of his coworkers. Grabbing a pistol, Avalus ran to the room around the corner. "What's going on out there? Doug?!"

The Tower laughed, his Twisted side beginning to realise how much damage they could cause to Elementalia as a result of their celebration. "Then let's not hesitate!" The Tower said, bringing forth a massive blizzard that immediately froze anything in its vicinity, sending the elementals into a panic once again. "Get fires set up, fast!" Cyclonio said, realising what was going on. A Fire elemental attempted to whip up a campfire to warm the elementals around him, only to see the fire go out as fast as it was ignited. "We can't! It's too windy!" The Fire elemental said before seeing his friends beginning to suffer from hypothermia. "GET INSIDE, NOW!" Hydranian shouted at the elementals around him, telling them to go inside. "Yes... I CAN FEEL IT! They're suffering! At MY hand!" The Tower said, knowing that elementals were suffering because of his power. "Tell me, Chariot, are you going to do anything at all?"

"Nope." The Chariot said, confusing both Justice and the Tower. "You've got it covered. I don't know how Justice might be able to help, but you two should be able to figure out something eventually." The Chariot said before yawning. "You two can cover this without me," The Chariot said while yawning.

"Lazy s***head..." The Tower thought to himself, while Justice just looked at The Chariot, disappointed at the fact that The Chariot chose not to try and help out the Tower. Justice then tapped into their elemental capabilities, creating a massive ice dome over Valor as to trap the blizzard inside. "What the hell's going on?!" Cyclonio said as Stheno put on a heavy jacket. "No idea, but whatever it is, it's gotta be one of the elementals doing it!" Hydranian said, completely unaffected by the storm. The Tower then proceeded to transform Elementalia's landscape into that of a Winter Nightmare, making the ground around everyone slippery and colder than even the summit of Mount Absolarc.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the dome, where the lab which had created these monsters was located, a lone scientist peered out from one of the old Elementalian cells, looking at the massive blizzard before him. The scientist then let out a sigh of guilt, seeing the damage that had been done because of the creations that he and his workmates had helped engineer. "That power... That has to be the Tower and Justice. But what about the Chariot?" Avalos, the scientist said to himself, then looking at The Fool, who had returned to the lab so that they had a place to sleep. "You know, it's surprising," Avalos said, confusing the Fool.

"What's surprising?"

"Out of all of the elementals we made, you're the only one that actually decided to stick with me after Famine killed the others."

"Well, I needed a place to sleep. I remembered you taking care of everyone, so I decided to come back here." The Fool said, taking a sip of some hot water to keep himself warm. "To us, you guys were pretty much like our kids. It's obvious that we'd take care of you guys. It just... I don't know, hurt to see all of you end up turning to Famine's side, and forget about all the good times we had together? The fact that I'm probably the only scientist that survived that onslaught... It messed with me." Avalos said, sipping on a coffee before looking at the Fool. "What exactly did you hear, Avalos?"

"I heard the Magician screaming for Medusa to not leave him, I saw the fight between the Outlaws and the Lovers, along with both of their deaths, every time I saw one of you guys die, it felt like a bullet had been shot through my head. But, it's good to know that at least one of you came back for me." Avalos said, then looking at the cell which contained both of the Lovers, seeing a photo of both Bruciato and Affogata, having just gotten married. The Fool, not knowing what to do, simply smiled at Avalos, trying to at least make them feel better. "I know the Outlaws are trying to help out an all, but could they at least stop and think about whether or not killing all of the elementals is worth it?" Avalos then said, looking at The Fool.

"You know, the Outlaws aren't all doom and gloom. They spared me after realising that Strength was what was taking control of everyone's corpses."

"I guess you do have a point there, but if Famine's taken control of the Tower, there's a chance that Famine's figured out how to awaken his Twisted side. I'm just hoping that the Outlaws are gonna be able to take them out."

"So what the hell are we meant to do about this? Elementalia's trapped underneath some dome, there's a blizzard going on, and we don't have any elementals spotted yet!" Cyclonio said over his intercom, looking at the massive blizzard brewing before him and Terrano. "I don't know! Just see if you can spot any elementals that look suspicious-" Medusa said over her intercom before noticing the Chariot hover down to her, Hydranian and Stheno. However, at the same time, The Tower was approaching Cyclonio and Terrano. "You're the twat responsible for this, aren't you?" Cyclonio asked the Tower, grabbing the hilt of his energy sword from the back of his suit.

"You're the one causing this blizzard, aren't you?" Stheno said, confronting the Chariot. The Chariot simply nodded before smiling at Stheno. "You are correct. However, there are two more elementals that are responsible for this mess. My accomplices and I have heard stories about your group taking out almost all of our group. Unfortunately, that story ends here. Famine's willpower will be seen through to the end. You will all fall." The Chariot said, simply causing Stheno to let out a sarcastic laugh before attempting to annoy the Chariot.

"Frankly, buddy, the people that we've faced before you? You're almost nothing to them! DIdn't you see what happened to this place before you came here? Do you think some little blizzard is gonna kill us? You've got rocks in your head if you do!" Stheno said, getting her sword out and electrifying it.

Cyclonio laughed at The Tower, looking at him. "Buddy, I don't know WHAT happened to you, but whatever did, it doesn't concern me anymore. We've taken down enough of your friends to know that this isn't gonna be half a problem. So bring it on!" Cyclonio said, igniting the sword and staring down the Tower. Strangely enough, however, it appeared as if the Twisted that had taken control over the Tower had taken this as an insult, getting horribly infuriated with what Cyclonio said. "YOU WANT ME TO BRING IT ON?! FINE! HAVE ALL OF IT!" The Tower screamed before firing a massive laser beam, much like Cedarion's a year before, albeit blue in colour instead of purple, at the two. Cyclonio, realising that he couldn't deflect that beam, rolled to the side while Terrano put up a rock wall to try and stop the beam.

However, it appeared as if the Tower wasn't going to stop this beam, as it only grew stronger, with Terrano noticing the wall starting to crack. "S**t! I've gotta move otherwise I'm toast!" Terrano thought to himself, before becoming a Chompler and digging a hole in the ground so that he could escape the beam. "DIE YOU GODDAMN PIECES OF S**T! YOUR TIME'S UP ALREADY!" The Tower screamed, destroying the wall that Terrano was hiding behind, but seeing that Terrano had managed to escape. "DAMN IT! I MISSED HIM!" The Tower said before being punched in the face by Terrano. Cyclonio then followed through, attempting to hit the Tower with his sword. However, the Tower grabbed Cyclonio by the arm before looking at him dead in the eyes. "I AM NOT ALLOWING YOU TO DO WHAT YOU DO TO THE REST OF US!" The Tower said, before slamming Cyclonio's arms into the ground, both dislocating and breaking them.

Meanwhile, Stheno stabbed the Chariot in the back, electrocuting him. Justice, seeing the fight from a distance, panicked at seeing the Chariot in danger, deciding to erect another, more intricate ice dome to assist the Chariot. This dome was much more reflective than the dome covering Elementalia, allowing for the Chariot to have an unfair advantage over the Outlaws. Medusa, Stheno and Hydranian were all in the same area, looking at the dome. Then, a maze-like structure formed around the three. "Well, great. This is gonna be fun." Medusa said, taking two daggers and throwing them at the ice, but to no avail. The Chariot then appeared from one of the walls and punched Hydranian in the head. "He can go through the walls?!" Stheno said, noticing what happened before being kicked in the head by the Chariot. "There's gotta be another elemental around here helping them!" Hydranian said, erecting an ice wall to protect himself from the Chariot. However, strangely enough, the Chariot also went through Hydranian's wall, kicking him in the head so hard that he ended up falling onto both Medusa and Stheno.

"Is he like intangible when it comes to ice or something?" Stheno asked the others, neither knowing the answer. However, the Chariot simply laughed at the three before confronting them. "You are correct, Stheno. I am able to pass through any and every kind of ice. Even packed ice will be unable to stop me. So give up your pointless fight, and accept your fate!" The Chariot said before getting a dagger to the face. The Chariot simply pulled the dagger out before looking at it. "What?" The Chariot said, looking at Medusa. "What's this meant to do, exactly?"

"Three, two, one," Medusa whispered to herself before the dagger exploded, severing one of the Chariot's arms. Stheno simply looked at Medusa in surprise before laughing. "Explosive daggers! Made them myself, you like them?" Medusa said to the Chariot, in an attempt to annoy them and cause them to do something that would give her, Stheno and Hydranian an advantage. "The best part about it? You can't make a prosthetic out of ice because of your natural intangibility to the stuff!" Medusa said, boasting to the Chariot on how she exploited one of his supposed powers. The Chariot simply scoffed in response. "No matter, I shall strike you down, even with my body now at a disadvantage!" The Chariot said before firing several ice bolts at the three. Justice slowly appeared behind the group, who were distracted trying to deal with the Chariot. Justice delivered a kick to Hydranian's temple, sending them flying from where Stheno and Medusa were. "What the?-" Medusa said, realising that there was another elemental helping out the Chariot, and it had just taken out Hydranian. "You deal with Hydranian! I'll deal with this showboat!" Stheno said, charging up her sword and trying to find the best possible way to attack the Chariot.

Medusa ran towards Hydranian, only to notice that her vision had blurred, and now there was what seemed to be two Hydranians, both in the same state. The Hydranian on the left reached out to Medusa, as if they had been horribly hurt, while the other simply tried to get up and prepare to join the battle again. Medusa simply stared at the Hydranian on the left, and delivered a haymaker to their face. "Maybe next time, you should try and deliver a more convincing performance, huh?" Medusa said, frustrated at the impostor. Justice, terrified, vanished back into the ice.

"For f**k's sake! Could this guy be any more of an insane maniac?!" Cyclonio said, evading another of one of the Tower's energy beams. Cyclonio then picked up a manhole cover and threw it at the Tower's face, causing them to grab their face in pain. "IT HURTS! IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP!" The Tower screamed, clinging to its face. Eventually though, the screaming stopped, and the Tower simply laughed at Cyclonio, who had made Terrano start preparing a trap for the Tower. "I believe you FORGET what the Tower represents, and to an extension what I represent for you and your friends?" The Tower said, confusing Cyclonio. "The Tower, no matter what way you view it, ALWAYS symbolises some form of danger. But in this case, for you, I represent catastrophe, destruction and unexpected change. I fully well know what I am doing to these people, and I enjoy it! I'll let you in on a little secret, my airheaded friend. I am part Twisted. While that would mean it would corrupt my mind, I've managed to overpower it with my own heinous motives. And what I have in store for you, is NOT pretty." The Tower said, not noticing that Cyclonio had stepped back. Terrano appeared from above, clutching onto a massive Technonian truck and intending to drop it onto the Tower. However, the Tower instead grabbed the truck, and threw it aside, Terrano still holding onto it. The truck hit a part of the dome, completely obliterating the truck and causing the dome to begin shaking.

"You didn't intend to drop that on me, did you?" The Tower said, looking at Cyclonio. The Tower then flew at Cyclonio at full speed, delivering an uppercut to Cyclonio's jaw, cracking it. The Tower laughed at the sound of Cyclonio's jaw cracking, before saying: "Yes! More! Break more bones for me! I LOVE IT!" The Tower then fired another energy beam at Cyclonio, intending to vaporise him. Cyclonio, using his legs, one of the few things which hadn't been broken by the Tower, created a vortex to redirect the beam to a nearby house. "So your life is more valuable than some innocent bystanders? So much for the heroes you five are built up to be, huh?! Might I remind you what Lenathor did to your former leader-" The Tower said, before realising that both Cyclonio and Terrano had gotten him in a deadlock and in between a massive beatdown, as if the mere intention of using Zealon against the two had sent them into a rage. The Tower instead opted to fight back, even deciding not to use his Twisted abilities.

The Chariot trapped Stheno in an ice cage, its bars, barbed and closing in on her. "Thank you, Lenathor!" Stheno thought to herself, using her eye laser to melt the ice away. Stheno then cut the Chariot with her sword, resulting in a massive gash across his abdomen. The Chariot, still believing himself to be superior to Stheno, opted not to go all out just yet, instead firing several orbs of ice that fired icicles in all directions. Stheno evaded the icicles to the best of her ability, while Medusa continued to provide her sister support by throwing daggers at Justice whenever he attempted a sneak attack. "This the best you got, buddy? I'm not even breaking a sweat here!" Stheno said, trying to get the Chariot to step up their game. The Chariot, seeing this as a challenge, ramped up their efforts, making the ground more slippery and causing fog to fill the area they were fighting in. "Wait a minute... I can just melt this stuff away!" Stheno thought to herself, charging up her eye laser and spinning around several times, melting the maze that Justice had made. "Showtime!" Stheno said, signalling to Medusa and Hydranian to go all out with their next attacks. Medusa started by throwing several explosive daggers into the Chariot's back, throwing them off guard and making them look at Medusa. Hydranian followed through by creating an ice mallet and hitting the Chariot with it, sending him flying into a house and temporarily distracting him. Stheno then appeared behind the Chariot, putting a pistol up to his chin and looking him dead in the eyes. "Bye-bye." Stheno said, pulling the trigger and sending him flying from the power of the bullet.

"So... I guess this is it, then." The Chariot thought to himself, dying. "Not yet, one final attack. They might have killed me, but let's see them stop THIS!" The Chariot then thought, seeing a large orb of light rise up from his corpse and erupt into a massive icicle storm. "My final attack...- It's a parting gift. Enjoy, Outlaws..!" The Chariot finally passed out, having gone limp. Justice panicked, seeing the Chariot die. "Oh god! They're coming for me next! Chariot? Tower? Famine? Anyone?! Please!" Justice thought to himself, calling anyone for help, believing himself to be done for. "No, this isn't how the Triple Threat should end. That dome wasn't either of them, that was me! If I'm going out, I'm gonna give them three the biggest trouble of them all!" Justice then thought, conjuring up both an electrical storm and snow storm to support Chariot's final attack. The three storms merged, eventually encompassing all of Elementalia, even shattering the dome which sealed the original blizzard, causing it to eventually grow to reach even the edge of Northern Inamorta. Justice then approached the three, ready to kill. "I am meant to bring justice upon those who dare defy Famine. Guess who's next on the chopping block?" Justice said, summoning an ice scythe to his hand and readying himself for a fight. However, the three couldn't hear Justice over the storm, causing Stheno to shout: "What?!" in response. Justice, believing that the three got his message, lunged at Hydranian with the scythe. Hydranian only just managed to deflect the scythe, noticing Justice jump back into the fog of the storm. "You're kidding me. Some scrawny elemental's trying to take us down now?" Hydranian said, before being cut by the scythe from another corner.

The Tower fired another beam, exposing himself in the fog. Terrano used this to his advantage, hitting him in the back before disappearing. "God damn it! You could have waited a little longer Justice, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, you HAD to do this now?!" The Tower thought to themselves before being kicked in the face by Cyclonio. Then, Hydranian remembered something by seeing what Justice looked like. "Hold on a minute... Do I know this elemental?" Hydranian thought to himself before deflecting a swing from Justice's scythe. "Why are more and more of them starting to pop up? I thought they all died?" Hydranian then thought, starting to become puzzled with the sudden appearance of elementals who seemed like not at all like he remembered, but incredibly familiar. Hydranian took out his canteen and splashed water at Justice while he was preparing to cut the three in half again, causing him to flinch and stop dead in his tracks. Medusa and Stheno grabbed onto him, waiting for Hydranian to finish him off. However, Hydranian instead froze Justice's arms, and flung them to the ground, forcing them to kneel and stare at Hydranian.

Wanting answers, Hydranian looked at Justice. Preparing to ask something he had wanted to know ever since Lenathor first attacked his village. "Crystallo? Figlio? Is it really you?" Hydranian asked in horror, believing Justice to be Crystallo, another member from his village. However, unlike Gelida, who was simply his niece, Crystallo was, in fact, Hydranian's son, who he had believed to have perished in the attacks alongside his wife. Justice let out a sigh of regret, looking up at Hydranian with tired eyes. "Yeah, you got me, pops." Justice said, surprising the Gorgon sisters, who had no idea that Hydranian had a son the whole time, but simply neglected to mention it to any of them. "What are you doing? Why are you tormenting everyone in Elementalia? Is this what any of us would have wanted?" Hydranian said, looking his son in the eyes. "You know Lenathor's attack on our village killed almost all of us, I wanted to avenge us. All of us. Say what you will, pops, but I only wanted the best for all of us."

"Killing everyone here won't bring all of them back, you know that."

"It's just..."

"I miss her too, kid. Don't worry. But she wouldn't have wanted this from either of us."

Justice took a deep breath, then collapsing to the ground, his hands still suspended in the ice, crying. "I'm sorry... I thought by joining Gelida's cause I could have done something to avenge you guys, I didn't realise she was crazy, by the time I realised what was happening, it was too late. I'm sorry, pops. I really am." Justice said, not daring to stare his father in the face, believing that he wouldn't be forgiven for what he had done to Elementalia. Hydranian wiped away Justice's tears, tilting his head so that they were both looking each other in the eye. Hydranian calmly shushed Justice, giving him a warm smile, the very same one that Justice remembered when he was but a small child, struggling to harness his elemental powers. "It'll be alright, bud. I'm sure they know your heart's in the right place. Now, come give your old man a hug, will you?" Hydranian said, melting away the pillars of ice holding Justice before hugging him. Justice, having calmed down, evaporated his scythe before hugging Hydranian, his father, who he once believed to have been killed in the attacks led by Lenathor, for the first time in what felt like forever for both of them. Strangely enough, it seemed as if through this reunion, Famine's control over Justice, along with the massive blizzards Justice had conjured, slowly faded away, before completely disappearing. Justice, along with their relentless power was no more. Now, all that remained was Crystallo.

"I wish I could just find a new life here, but people would recognise me as one of Famine's subjects, I'd be killed." Crystallo said, looking around him to see Elementalians slowly recovering from the storms that he had made. "Don't say that, I promise, that we'll find you a new home. You're going to be okay, I promise." Hydranian said, then looking at Terrano and Cyclonio fighting the Tower in the distance. "Looks like they need help." Medusa said, readying a set of explosive daggers. "Get someplace safe, I'll find you once we deal with this guy." Hydranian said, joining Medusa and Stheno in running towards the fight to aid Cyclonio and Terrano. Crystallo, however, simply reached out to Hydranian, shouting: "Wait!" Hydranian stopped dead in his tracks, and looked at Crystallo, confused. "Let me help. It's the least I can do."

"Crystallo, no. I can't risk losing you as well."

"Pops, I'll be fine. I'm not like how I was then. Please, let me help you. Just this once."

"I lost you once, kid. I'm not gonna lose you again. You're all that I have left of the village, just please, get someplace safe."

"You're all that I have left of the village as well! You think I'm gonna sit idly by and wait for you, and not know if you're still alive? The Tower's a maniac, you're gonna need all the help you can get. Just please, let me help you." Crystallo said, determined to help his father. Much like Hydranian, who was determined to protect his son from harm. "I'll be alright. Just please, just this once."

Hydranian simply let out a sigh of concern, nodding to Crystallo. "Don't die on me, alright?" Hydranian said, both he and his son running towards the fight.

The Tower, breathing heavily, and visibly hurt, stared at the four outlaws, noticing that Hydranian and Justice, now Crystallo, had joined the fight. "Justice, you traitor... So THAT'S why the storm stopped." The Tower thought to himself, then looking at the six, all of them ready for a fight. "So, this is what it's come to. Very well. If you want to strike me down, then good luck." The Tower's eyes then began to glow a distinct purple while staring at Crystallo. "Because I'm not going down easily!" The Tower said, firing a massive laser beam at Crystallo. Cyclonio attempted to fire an energy beam to protect this elemental that was helping them, but due to his broken arms, the beam was much weaker than anticipated. "Wait! Hold still, pops, cover for me!" Crystallo said as Hydranian put up an ice wall to protect him and Cyclonio. Cyclonio then felt his bones slowly moving back into place, for they were being pushed back into place by ice. an icy covering then formed around his bones, holding them in place so that he was at his best. "Alright, good to go!" Crystallo said, giving Cyclonio a thumbs up.

"Thanks!" Cyclonio said, flying towards the Tower and kicking him in the head. Terrano then followed through, summoning two earthen pillars to batter the Tower. Medusa threw three explosive daggers into the mix. However, the Tower had disappeared, this time holding Hydranian hostage. "BACK AWAY. You don't need more casualties than you've already amassed, Justice." The Tower said, charging up a beam that would vaporise Hydranian. However, Cyclonio appeared behind the Tower, blasting him directly in the face, sending him away from Hydranian. "You alright, Ian?" Cyclonio asked, Hydranian nodding in response. The Tower was then impaled from the back by Stheno, who sent as much amps of electricity into him as possible. The Tower shrieked in pain, then firing a laser beam at Stheno. Several, large shards of ice appeared around the Outlaws before exploding. Terrano, Hydranian and Crystallo, in response, put up a large dome to shield the group from the explosion.

However, a set of circular saws, also made of ice, pierced the dome, cutting the six in several areas. Medusa blew a hole in the dome with one of the daggers, allowing the group to exit the dome and confront the Tower, who simply stared at the Outlaws, smliing. "Come." The Tower said, summoning a massive array of ice-based weapons to his aid. Cyclonio flew at full speed towards the Tower, ready to behead them. However, several ice pillars appeared in front of Cyclonio, forcing him to dodge and weaken his attack. This would then be finished up by the Tower punching Cyclonio in the face, sending them flying. Terrano and Stheno were next to attack, Stheno being boosted into the air by a pillar. Terrano then attacked from behind with several roots which crushed the Tower's torso, puncturing the Tower's lungs, as well as forcing all of the air out of his body. Stheno then fired a laser from her eye, blinding the Tower momentarily. Medusa then threw an explosive dagger into the Tower's mouth, causing him to become disoriented. Hydranian then summoned an ice mallet and prepared to pulverise the Tower's head. "THIS ENDS HERE!" Hydranian shouted, crushing the Tower's head, killing them.

Hydranian then stared at the Tower's limp corpse, throwing his mallet aside, then walking away. However, through this act, Hydranian had just given the Twisted within the Tower full control over the now headless body. The Twisted fired a laser beam at Hydranian, sending him flying. "Pops!" Crystallo said, running towards where Hydranian went. The Twisted then regenerated its head to appear more similar to that of a normal Twisted before staring down the remaining four Outlaws. The Twisted roared at the three before charging up an incredibly powerful beam. "Oh, no you don't!" Stheno said, grabbing a large piece of debris and flinging it at the Twisted, throwing it off course. "I got this!" Cyclonio said, firing a beam towards the back of the Twisted. Meanwhile, however, two figures approached the scene, one in a tattered lab coat, and one which seemed to be familiar to the Outlaws. The figure in the labcoat pulled out what seemed like a pistol, before shooting the Twisted with it. The Twisted shrieked before collapsing to the ground. Avalos and the Fool, the two figures, appeared in front of the Twisted. "Scalpel," Avalos said to the Fool, the latter handing him a scalpel soon after. Avalos then positioned the scalpel where the spinal cord of a stickman would be, before cutting it. Avalos then stared at the Twisted's dead body before throwing Medusa a dart which would be able to knock out any lifeform which was unfortunate enough to be shot by it. "You lot are going to need this, your adventure's nearly over, don't worry."

"Wait, who the hell are you?" Medusa asked Avalos, not knowing who he was.

"That's Avalos," Crystallo said, appearing behind the Fool while resting on Hydranian. "He's probably the last Elementalian scientist left. You guys should probably keep that, only elementals that I know for sure that are left are the Wheel of Fate, The Empress and The Emperor. I don't know about the Star or World, though." Hydranian then took the dart, and walked back towards the ship, signalling for Crystallo to tag along. The Outlaws flew to Westwind before opening up the door for Crystallo to leave. "They'll accept you here, you'll be able to live a proper life here, kid. Trust me." Hydranian said, looking outside to see Westwind, having fully recovered since the attacks that were orchestrated on it. "You sure that I'll be fine here?"

"I'm sure you will." Hydranian said, smiling to Crystallo, he walked out of the ship, taking a deep breath of the fresh air that was present in Westwind, before looking at his father. But, surprising Hydranian, Crystallo ran up to him, gave him one final hug, and went to leave. "Wait," Hydranian said before giving Crystallo the necklace he had picked up from the village and putting it around Crystallo's neck. "Something to remember your mother by, take it." Hydranian said, smiling at his son, but also upset that he had to part with him again. "Thanks, pops. I'll see you around." Crystallo said, before taking a look at the other Outlaws and smiling. "Nice friends you have, promise me you'll take care of them, alright?" Crystallo then left the Withered Conifer, its door closing afterwards. Hydranian let out a bittersweet sigh, smiling. "I will." Cyclonio fired up the Withered Conifer, before flying back towards Elementalia, which finally had time to recover from Death's attack, Judgement's chaos, The Hierophant's madness and The Chariot, Tower and Justice's storm.

Chapter XIII: The Wheel of Fate

Famine opened up the logs for Elementalian Test Subject Ten before reading them out loud. "Test Subject Ten, codename The Wheel of Fate. While based off of the Wheel of Fortune, they are very much like their tarot designation, quite literally being a wild card even before we got to work. Their primary element is constantly changing, as a result of a wheel they have been symbiotically bonded to, which allows them to switch elements at will. However, their true element is Energy, an incredibly rare element among all of us, reported to only be seen in around one in twelve-thousand elementals." Famine then closed the log, looking at their chamber in the Abyss. Unlike the chambers that were owned by Death, War, even Pestilence, Famine's chamber appeared as a serene, tranquil room, like that of a freshly built temple to their father, Kronos, deep red in colour. Where they sat, was a small memorial to Conquest, their fallen brother-in-arms, their friend, their family, to the right of them. To their left, The Empress, Emperor, Star and The World spent time with one another, playing whatever game came to mind. The entire chamber had a welcoming feeling to it, representing Famine's noticeable benevolent behaviour compared to that of their siblings. Famine then approached a dormant Wheel of Fate, having been kept under suspended animation ever since Famine first attacked the laboratory.

Famine released the Wheel from their stasis, allowing them time to readjust to the world. The Wheel of Fate was a mysterious figure, much like the World, only unlike the Cycloid, their entire body was clad in a skin-tight, void-enhanced Technium-weave armour designed by Famine. Their wheel, initially just a simple steel ring, about the same thickness as a stickman's arm, was now a large electrified ring, made from the same material as their armour. "It's time, you know what you need to retreive." Famine said to the Wheel of Fate, who simply nodded to Famine before disappearing from Famine's chamber. The Wheel materialised within the base of the Outlaws, directly in front of an old, decrepit room which had been left unattended ever since the attacks first began, worn by changes in temperature, weather, atmosphere, and more.

The Wheel simply opened up the door leading to the room, to see a small memorial set up, which housed a casket, left untouched to time, with the corpse still fully intact, various cards expressing Elementalia's gratitude to this person, along with various arrays of flowers lining the remaining space within the casket. While any normal elemental would not dare to touch this memorial, instead respecting the fallen hero residing within this coffin, The Wheel of Fate chose not to. Instead, they had their ring set up cluster bombs all over the base, as to ensure that the Outlaws no longer had any place to call home. The Wheel then opened up a small portal underneath the coffin, which would ensure its safe arrival to Famine's chamber. However, the Wheel was not without the slightest bit of respect, opting to close the casket, then placing their hand on the casket, thinking to themselves a traditional Elementalian prayer of safety.

However, this prayer was not to ensure the safe passage of the fallen hero's soul into the afterlife, instead, this was to ensure the safe passage of the casket, to further Famine and Kronos' own goals. The portal engulfed the casket, then beginning to close, until finally, it, along with the casket, were gone. The Wheel, too, then disappeared. Its purpose fulfilled. It had once again been put into stasis by Famine. Until it was called upon again, the Wheel of Fate would remain in stasis, when it would be ready to unleash what it perceived to be "fate". Not the fate which Famine, not even Kronos perceived as true, but the fate which it and it alone perceived as true.

But the lengths it would go to ensure that this fate ended up becoming the one true outcome, would be seen as horrifying, even to the worst of individuals. Famine knew this deep down, which is why they had decided to ensure they were sealed and kept away from the outside world at all costs. However, Kronos too, knew of this behaviour present within the Wheel of Fate, but instead of attempting to contain them, he loved the idea of the Wheel of Fate wreaking havoc on the world, even the universe, if they were left alone to do what it felt was necessary to attain its version of fate. It was through Kronos' love for the Wheel, that it hadn't already been eliminated by Famine, being deemed too dangerous even for Kronos.

However, this act of keeping the Wheel in stasis would not last forever, as around a week after, the Wheel ended up escaping from its stasis chamber, and wreaking havoc on not just Elementalia, but even Inamorta. Around this time, Cherry, one of Zealon's friends, was visiting Zealon's parents, who were all oblivious to what Zealon's true fate was. It was at this time the Wheel of Fate had determined that the mere existence of the Archidonis was something which would end up hindering with its perception of fate. The entire world was covered in darkness, an element that the Wheel had picked up from its initial attack in the lab. "Stay here, I'll go out there and see what's going on." Cherry said, grabbing her staff and looking outside to see a stickman, inside of a floating, rotating ring, hovering above Archidon Territory, simply looking at Cherry with eyes devoid of any good, life, or hope. The Outlaws were quick to notice this phenomenon as well, flying over to the source of the anomaly and noticing a lone Meric staring down the mysterious figure which was causing this unusual occurence on Inamorta.

When the Outlaws exited the Withered Conifer, what sounded like an array of bells, the ones which symbolised a funeral, or a tragedy, were heard by everyone around the wheel. It appeared as if the ring surrounding them was responsible for this sound, as if it knew what it was coming to the Archidonis if the Wheel's definition of "fate" were to be fulfilled. Cyclonio looked at the Wheel in both confusion and fear, wondering what its powers were, but also fearing for the people of the Archidonis. Terrano looked at the Wheel, anticipating its next move. Hydranian was focused on defeating the wheel for the sake of his son, the last member of his village who was still alive. Because if he was unable to protect him, what hope could he have for protecting Inamorta? The gorgon sisters stared at the Wheel, Stheno knowing exactly who this mysterious individual was, Medusa, having made a checklist in her head of the elementals they had defeated, simply looked the Wheel dead in the eyes, knowing that their quest was nearly over. Medusa loaded up a gun filled with darts similar to the ones Avalos used, then looking back at the Wheel, ready to fight.

Cherry looked at the Outlaws, then noticing that two of the individuals appeared to be gorgons. "Wait, hold on. The tablet mentioned THREE gorgons. Medusa was killed, so there must be a chance that's Stheno and Euryale, right? But... Why are they working together? I thought they were working for Kronos?" Cherry was left clueless as to why the gorgons were now working to protect Inamorta instead of destroy and bring it under the control of Kronos. But otherwise, understood their intentions, taking out her staff and looking at the wheel. "The hell is that thing?" Cyclonio asked the others, then noticing Cherry near a house. Believing Cherry was unaware that the Wheel was dangerous, Cyclonio shouted out to her: "HEY! Don't you think you should be inside?!" Cherry simply let out a sigh before looking at the group. She felt this familiar presence looking at them, but they all appeared to be completely different. "I'm here to help!" Cherry shouted back to Cyclonio.

"Pshh, get a load of that Meric. They're gonna die." Cyclonio said to the others.

"Cy, she's here to help. Let her." Medusa said as the others readied themselves for a fight. The Wheel, realising that these six were standing in its way of fate, also prepared for a fight. Stheno, noticing this, told the others: "Looks like we got its attention, get ready."

The Wheel charged at the Outlaws, all five of them splitting up, while Cherry used her staff to propel herself towards the others, in an attempt to help them. Cyclonio unloaded all the ammo he had on him into the Wheel, trying to break through whatever was protecting it. Hydranian summoned an ice axe and tried to sever the Wheel's arms, but to no avail, the ring surrounding them simply grabbed Hydranian and spun around, flinging him into the sky. "I can't get through its armour, it's like its got some kind of force field around it!" Cyclonio said to the others, loud enough that Cherry was able to hear this. Cherry immediately knew what kind of armour was clad around the Wheel, opting to tell the others. "It's Technium! I don't know what's aorund it, but keep hitting it! It'll break eventually!"

"Technium? Isn't that what the ship's made of?" Cyclonio thought to himself, slowly coming along with an idea. He just needed time to get it to work. However, for the time being, Cyclonio continued shooting at the Wheel. In retaliation, they grabbed their ring and flung it like a frisbee at the Outlaws, hitting Terrano and Cyclonio. "Gah!" Terrano said in response, falling to the ground and rolling around. The Wheel's ring then returned to it before a set of eight symbols appeared around the wheel. The ring then generated a small arrow pointer, which pointed to the symbol representing Water. The Wheel's colour then changed to a deep blue before it began summoning water from the vapour in the air, as well as stealing the water from the sweat produced by the six. Cherry then came in, stabbing the Wheel with a Technium knife that the Technion had issued her before she followed Alinion and the others to the mountains. The Wheel punched Cherry in the gut, sending her away from them before they conjured a massive blob of water to use to attack the Outlaws. It coated itself in this blob before hardening it, turning it into an incredibly dense ball of ice. From this ball, spikes emerged in all directions, narrowly missing the group.

Hydranian attempted to use this ice against them, trying to invert the spikes and turn the Wheel into literal swiss cheese. However, the water around them turned back into vapor as the ring then switched to the symbol representing Earth. A massive earthquake was then felt, causing Terrano to stomp the ground as hard as he could, creating a platform and sending both him and Cyclonio into the air on said pillar. However, the Wheel pulled the platform towards it, then trying to crush the two. However, Terrano fought back against it, giving Cyclonio time to deliver a haymaker to the Wheel's helmet, as well as time to further think over his plan. Cherry tended to the wounds of the others before attempting to reach Terrano. "I gotcha!" Hydranian said, raising an ice pillar for Cherry to reach Terrano. Cherry ran towards Terrano, healing his wounds before pulling out a scroll with a spell inscribed onto it. "Alright, let's give this a shot... Komm raus, Dämonen!" Cherry said, summoning three minions to her aid.

"Deal with that thing there!" Cherry said, pointing to the Wheel of Fate. The three minions jumped off of Terrano's platform, one biting into the Wheel's leg, one onto the Wheel's shoulder, and the last trying to attack the ring itself. "Medusa, I've got half an idea, but I think this'll only work because of that vial we all drank. You wanna give it a shot?" Cyclonio said, having an idea as to how they could combat the Wheel.

"What is it?" Medusa asked, shooting explosive bullets at the Wheel.

"You've got access to the Fire element now, right? What if we got Terrano and tried to fuse you two?" Cyclonio said, causing both Medusa and Stheno's eyes to widen. "What?! Are you nuts?!"

"Maybe! But if this works, we should be able to get a fusion of a Charrog and your abilities, it's worth a shot!"

"He's got a point, sis. If we want to take this thing out, we've gotta pull out everything we've got!" Stheno said, jumping towards the Wheel to try and combat them. Medusa, realising this, nodded to Cyclonio, who then called out to Terrano. "What's going on?" Terrano asked, not knowing Cyclonio's plan.

"Get ready to fuse. But not with me, with her." Cyclonio said as Terrano adopted a meditative-like stance, Medusa following after. "Alright, Medusa, just focus on your breathing. Drown out all of the things going on. Both of you need to be in perfect harmony for this thing to work. Terrano'll guide you, I have to help out the others." Cyclonio said, then flying back to help fight. Both Medusa and Terrano entered a zen-like state, the fight soon being drowned out of both of their minds. Now, there was only them, and each other. The two began to float off the ground, a bright, amber light appearing in between the two. Then, the two slowly began to move closer to one another, their bodies slowly but gradually becoming less and less corporeal, until eventually, their bodies began to overlap, then come closer, then finally, merge with one another. Medusa and Terrano had fused into a hybrid of a Gorgon and Charrog, being held together through both their collective willpower and as a result of the Magician's element. The fusion jumped towards the Wheel, ready to pummel the elemental into submission.

The Wheel stared down the four, looking at them with a blank expression as a result of their helmet. But, through their helmet, Cyclonio, Hydranian, Stheno and Cherry knew the Wheel was looking at them in disappointment, expecting a better fight. But, at that moment, a Charrog with molten snakes for hair punched the Wheel in the face, then ramming the Wheel's face into the gorund. "Wow, she got the hang of that fusion stuff really easy." Cyclonio said in surprise, not expecting Medusa to be able to perform a fusion despite it being her first attempt to do so. "Cy, I thought you remembered fusion was about the collective goal of the fusees?" Hydranian said, then pointing out an example. "When Z was captured by Flamagane, all of us wanted to resuce him, that's how we fused so easily."

"Right, forgot about that. But anyway, we gotta help them!" Cyclonio said, summoning a disc of energy and flying towards the Medusa-Terrano fusion fighting against the Wheel of Fate. Stheno flew towards Cyclonio, while Hydranian grabbed Cherry and created an ice ramp for the two to move down from. The four saw the Medusa-Terrano fusion summon several snake-like entities made from lava to attack the Wheel, with them in retaliation opting to smash the snakes off of the Gorgon Charrog construct, it growing them back just as fast as they were being smashed. However, Cyclonio came in, delivering a hit to the Wheel's head, throwing it off course. Stheno then threw Cherry a bundle of explosive daggers that Medusa had made prior to the Wheel's attack. "When you see an opening, throw them things as hard as you can at that thing! They'll explode on contact!" Stheno said to Cherry, then firing an eye laser at the ring surrounding the Wheel. The ring was sent flying away from the wheel, reverting them back to their original state, if only for a brief moment.

"It's an energy elemental?!" Cyclonio said, looking at the Wheel's true form. "Well, that explains a lot then, doesn't it?!" Cyclonio said, grabbing his energy sword and attacking the Wheel itself. The ring, however, switched elements again, this time attempting to switch to Fire. However, Cherry threw a dagger at the ring, disrupting it and causing it to change to the element of Air. A massive hurricane hit Archidon territory, reaching even the borders of the Order Empire. Cherry and the minions she summoned continued to throw daggers at the ring, causing it all sorts of trouble. That was, until the ring was flung back towards the Wheel like a magnet, cutting two of the minions in half and hitting Cherry's right arm, cracking it.

Cherry used her staff with her left hand to heal her wound, but instead opted to summon more minions to compensate for the ones lost. Cherry ran towards the Wheel, then shouting "Incinerosa!" creating a massive explosion where the Wheel was, as well as causing the ring to change elements once again. This time, to the element of Fire. The Wheel began firing fountains of flames from all directions, throwing off everyone around it. Then, the six heard "Archidons, FIRE!" causing them to look back and see countless Archidon soldiers firing on the Wheel of Fate. "If you believe that you can simply destroy our nation like this, without expecting a fight, then you are horribly mistaken!" The Archidon commander said, signalling for the Archidons to fire once again. The Wheel, however, switched their element to Air and fired a powerful gust at the arrows, killing some Archidonis as a result of the gust, injuring others, and sending the remaining Archidons flying.

Medusa and Terrano attempted to deliver a punch to the Wheel's head, only for the Wheel itself to grab the fusion's hand, and fling them into the ground, over and over again, slowly but gradually breaking the unification that Terrano and Medusa had that kept the fusion together. The Wheel then finally ripped the fusion in two, separating Medusa and Terrano. The Wheel then looked at the six, as well as the Archidon army, who were busy recovering. It was then when the Wheel began to laugh. Confusing everyone. It then took off its mask, revealing a stickman with an insane expression on their face, sending chills down even Terrano's spine. The Wheel then simply uttered four words. "THIS IS YOUR END." The Wheel then put its mask back on, switching its element to that of Void. The world around the people present in Archidon territory began to warp once more, much like how the Hermit had altered Order's perception of the world when it had ended up nearing the empire. The six got ready to attack once again, this time more determined than ever to finish off the Wheel of Fate before it ended up destroying Inamorta.

Taconia, another one of Zealon and Cherry's friends appeared from a portal, checking in on Cherry to ensure she was alright. However, what she noticed was Medusa, who she believed was Euryale, as it was still a theory that Medusa was still alive, Stheno, Cherry and the others facing off against a mysterious, black-armoured individual with a glowing ring surrounding them. The shadowy armour this figure wore gave Taconia memories of her fight against the Dark Wyvern, a memory that had stuck with her after she had seen the damage they had caused. In response to this, Taconia went all out attacking the Wheel, not bothering to see if her attacks were doing any damage. All she wanted right now was for the memory of the Dark Wyvern to disappear. "Who the hell's that dude?" Cyclonio asked Cherry, believing that she knew who the mysterious figure wielding two beams of light for swords was. "That's Taconia, she's one of my friends." Cherry said in response, freezing Cyclonio's expression. "THAT'S A CHICK?!" Cyclonio thought to himself, surprised.

The Wheel ignored Taconia's attacks, opting to throw her towards the group, and prepare an attack on the group. "Taconia!" Cherry said, healing any wounds she may have received from being thrown. The Wheel looked at the elementals, then simply shook its head. It then grabbed its wheel and threw it at the group as hard as it could, creating a crater where it landed. Half of the group scattered to the left, the other to the right. "What's the plan?" Medusa asked Cyclonio, believing that he had a plan in mind. "Take that thing out any way possible." Taconia said, answering for Cyclonio. Taconia then lunged at the Wheel, cutting their torso, then opening up a portal and repeating their attack. Medusa tried to help out by throwing explosive daggers at the Wheel, distracting them from Taconia.

"Any ideas in mind, Stheno?" Hydranian asked, seeing if Stheno had half an idea on what they could do. Stheno then noticed the ring, slowly recovering from the large impact it had made, as if it had a mind of its own. "Remember how that crab thing had some symbiotic bond to the Hierophant?" Stheno asked Hydranian and Terrano, both of whom nodded in response. "Maybe if we take that ring out, we'll be able to deal with that thing easier!" Stheno said, then firing an eye laser at the ring, throwing it off course again. Terrano covered both of his hands in two large mounts of earth, turning his hands into two massive hammers, then attacking the ring by attempting to crush it. Hydranian then created a dome around him, Terrano, Stheno, Cherry and the ring, so that if it did manage to get back up, it would have to smash through an incredibly thick dome of ice. Cherry summoned five minions to her aid to hold the ring down, while the others did as much damage to the ring as possible.

"Hey! What's-your-name! What the hell's his armour made of?" Cyclonio asked Taconia, thinking that she knew what kind of armour the Wheel was wearing. "From the looks of it, it's void-enhanced Technium! You're not gonna get through it with simple attacks, but you guys seem like you've got it covered!" Taconia said, then trying to cut through the Wheel's armour with her normal sapphire Soul Rippers. "God- These things aren't working, I'll have to use them!" Taconia thought to herself, putting her sapphire rippers away and putting on her emerald Soul Rippers, and continuing to attack the Wheel. She was noticeably getting much more damage on the Wheel with the emerald rippers, as a result, she would continue using them in the fight. The Wheel then used several black holes to fling Cyclonio, Medusa and Taconia away from it, then calling for its ring to switch elements.

Terrano continued attacking the ring, creating multiple dents in its exterior, that was, until the ring spun around incredibly fast, throwing Hydranian, Terrano and Cherry's minions off of it, as it prepared to fly into the dome at high speed. "The bastard's gonna switch elements! Ian, don't let that thing get through!" Terrano said as he switched to his Chompler form and held onto the ring as hard as he could. Hydranian thickened the ice further, its durability surpassing that of even the mightiest of Spearton shields. Stheno kicked her eye laser into overdrive, firing at the ring with all of the power she had, causing the exterior of the ring to begin melting away. However, much like how the group were giving it their all, the ring, too, started to go all out. Beginning to spin once again, sending Terrano flying into the side of the dome, and loosening his grip. The ring then tried to ram into Stheno at high speeds, only for Stheno to roll out of the way. Cherry tended to Terrano's wounds, then created an explosion around the ring, throwing it off course.

The Wheel, realising that the ring was in danger, flew towards the dome, attempting to break it so that it could switch elements. "Oh, no you don't!" Taconia said, switching her left ripper to a lasso, then snaring the Wheel and flinging them towards her, Medusa and Cyclonio. Medusa had her snakes bite into the Wheel, sending as much venom as she could into it, while Cyclonio took out his energy sword and cut at the Wheel. "When did elementals have Soul Rippers?!" Taconia said in confusion, noticing the sword. "It's not a Soul Thingy! This is just a beam of concentrated plasma, is all!" Cyclonio said, as he continued cutting at the Wheel. The Wheel broke free of Taconia's hold, then grabbing her by the neck, flying into the air and trying to strangle her to death. "S**t!" Medusa said, seeing that Taconia was in danger. Medusa then used an explosive dagger to propel herself towards the Wheel. Medusa grabbed onto the Wheel's leg, then having her snakes bite into it, while she attempted to kick the Wheel in the head.

Taconia, however, whether or not it was a result of a premonition, or a bad dream, ended up going insane in terms of attacking the Wheel, trying desperately to get the Wheel's arms off of her neck. Eventually, the Wheel ended up letting go, Medusa having noticed something breaking through the dome. The Wheel's ring shattered the dome, coming towards Taconia, Medusa and the Wheel at high speed, however, there was an incredibly powerful jet of water pushing it, forcing it to move even faster. "MOVE, QUICK!" Medusa shouted to Taconia, who opened up a portal and disappeared from the Wheel's grasp. The ring continued moving closer and closer to the Wheel of Fate, there being no sign of it slowing down whatsoever. Then, the ring rammed into the Wheel, cutting it in half. The two halves of the Wheel fell to the ground, the incredibly damaged ring following after. "Yes!" Stheno said, seeing the Wheel, cut in half. She then hi-fived Terrano and Hydranian, believing that they had taken out the Wheel.

The Archidon forces around the group lowered their bows, looking at the elemental, then noticing several pitch-black tendrils emerging from both ends of the Wheel's corpse. "What element was the Wheel on when it got cut in half?" Taconia asked, concerned as to what was going on with the Wheel's corpse. The tendrils from both ends of the corpse then began to move closer to one another, attempting to combine with one another. "Bastard! The void element's trying to fix the Wheel!" Stheno said as she fired an eye laser at the tendrils emerging from the Wheel's lower torso. Cyclonio then flew towards the Wheel's upper torso, attacking the tendrils emerging from that side. However, the tendrils began fighting back, attacking both Stheno and Cyclonio.

"Hang on a minute... Aren't all Air elementals born with a really weak constitution? I wonder..." Cherry thought to herself before saying to Medusa and Taconia "Find the wheel! I've got an idea!" Taconia and Medusa began running in the direction of where the Wheel had gone, while Cherry warned the Archidons to evacuate, so as to not lose any more people than they had already lost. Terrano and Hydranian helped evacuate the Archidon people, while Cyclonio and Stheno continued to fight the tendrils on either side. "So, which sibling are you? Euryale or Stheno?" Taconia asked Medusa, still unaware that Medusa was alive.

"Stheno's the half robot one fighting the tendrils, I'm Medusa," Medusa said in response, surprising Taconia.

"Wait, let me get this straight, if you're Medusa, how the hell are you still alive? I thought Hatheon beheaded you after the war!"

"I'm not too sure of it myself, but I remember that I did end up being struck down in the war." Medusa then said in response, the two getting closer and closer to the place where the ring had crash landed. "Well, let's not waste time figuring that out, the others need us!" Taconia then said as the two came across a large crater, in the centre of it, the shattered remains of the ring. "S**t... This just got a whole lot harder..." Medusa said to herself, looking at the remains. Taconia raised an eyebrow, then looked at Medusa. "What do you mean? Doesn't that thing being destroyed mean that this would be a lot easier?"

"No, that's not it. Taking out a Void Elemental is much harder than simply killing them like you would you or I." Medusa said in response, looking back at the group fighting the Wheel.

"What do you mean?"

"In order to take the life of a Void Elemental, you must give up your life in order to ensure the Void Elemental's soul is fully destroyed. If you don't, it'll keep coming back until it takes someone else with it."

Taconia froze for a moment, then ignited her Soul Rippers. "This place is my friend's old home. I'll give myself up if it meant that his family'll be safe."

"No, don't," Medusa said in response. "A year ago, one of my friends tried giving themselves up to destroy a Void Elemental much like this one. Neither souls were destroyed. That elemental ended up taking the life of someone who meant the world to me only this year."

"Damn... I'm sorry to hear that, even from someone like you. So, what ARE you suggesting we do, then?"

"We've gotta try and fix this wheel. If we can fix it enough to switch that thing's element to something that isn't Void, even for a moment, we'll have enough time to take him out."

At that moment, Stheno crashed into the crater, shocking both Medusa and Taconia. "What are you halfwits doing?! We've got a killer Void Elemental on the loose and you're just standing here having some mothers meeting!"

"Sis! That's the thing! You don't remember what happened LAST time I tried taking out Lenathor?"

"... Drat, that's right. So you want to try and use his element changing abilities to our advantage?" Stheno asked Medusa, who nodded in response. "There's enough of the wheel here to probably try and fix it, let's get to work."

"I'll collect any pieces I can find." Taconia said, then running out of the crater to search the area. Medusa moved pieces of the ring together, slowly beginning to form it again, while Stheno used both her eye laser and snakes to try and weld the ring back together. Meanwhile, Cyclonio, Terrano, Hydranian and Cherry were busy trying to stall. "WHY did it have to be the Void element of all the things?!" Terrano said, punching one of the tendrils away. Hydranian cut some of the tendrils into pieces using an axe made from ice, while Cyclonio did the same with his energy sword. Cherry, however, instead provided support with minions and causing some tendrils to explode. The Wheel's tendrils eventually slapped Cherry into a nearby house, breaking the wall she was slapped into as well as shattering her ribcage. Cherry attempted to use her staff to heal herself, but then she realised that the staff had snapped in two as a result of the impact, leaving her useless for the fight unless she was able to either fix her staff or find a new one.

"S**t!" Cyclonio said, looking at Cherry, who appeared unconscious. Cyclonio then readied a group of grenades. "I have a feeling I'm gonna enjoy this even more now!" Terrano threw a piece of earth for Cyclonio to jump onto and throw the grenades at the tendrils at from a safe distance. The grenades exploded all around the tendrils, causing some light to reflect off of their pitch-black exterior, and forcing them to momentarily retract, if only for a moment. "Alright! Get me more grenades, T! I'm gonna need em!" Cyclonio said, then firing a ball of energy at the tendrils. Terrano threw Cyclonio more grenades, Cyclonio then flinging them at the Wheel's tendrils in an attempt to make sure they were unable to attack anyone. Hydranian followed by freezing any tendrils that he noticed were staying out of the explosions, forcing them to have to wither away.

Taconia collected as many pieces of the Wheel's ring as she could find, Stheno welding them together, the new ring was beginning to take shape. Medusa continued to slowly piece the remains together, much like how one would piece together a jigsaw, in order to assist Stheno in the welding process. "Alright, that's the shell done! We just need to fire it up!" Stheno said, notifying Taconia to stop searching for pieces.

"Wait, I have half an idea on how we could fire it up." Taconia said, holding one of her sapphire Soul Rippers. Taconia ignited it, then placing it in the ring's power source. The ring, although having a rocky start, pieces of it falling off, whether or not from a bad or rushed welding job or simply from damage, managed to jump to life, slowly beginning to spin, the amount of times it spun per minute increasing more and more, until eventually, it started moving towards the Wheel's split halves. "So how are we supposed to destroy it once the Wheel switches elements?" Stheno asked, seeing the ring moving towards the fight.

"I remember this trick the Shadowrath used to do, once the elements get switched, I'll hit that ring as hard as I can." Taconia said, looking at the gorgon sisters. Medusa, still confused as to how the Soul Rippers were supposed to do anything, decided to ask: "How are those different from any other weapons we have? They just look like glorified light sticks to me, honestly."

"They are beams of light, but they harness the power of whatever gemstone within them is embedded into these special slots here," Taconia said, pointing out the slots which the gemstones were embedded into. "One of my friends ended up getting a hold of the Energy Crystal, so his rippers are the strongest in the Soulwrath's history."

"Hold up, Soulwrath?"

"I'll explain once this is done, let's move!" Taconia said, bolting towards the area where the others and the Wheel were fighting. Medusa grabbed onto Stheno's hand as Stheno flew towards the area, following Taconia.

Cherry looked at the staff, then her spellbook, noticing the spell a Meric would normally use with a staff in order to heal any forces. "Alright, here goes nothing..." Cherry said, clutching onto her ribcage and feeling both of her lungs lose air. With the little oxygen she had left, she uttered one final spell intended to be cast onto herself. "Contra... mendacium..." Cherry fell to the ground, her vision blurred, slowly narrowing more and more. Cherry then heard her heartbeat, it being the only thing she could even perceive at this moment in time, hearing it slowly begin to die out, her heartbeat ceasing, until finally, stopping. "So, this is it, then. Alinion, I'm so sorry..." Cherry thought to herself, as her brain functions began to cease. Surprisingly enough, however, Cherry's eyes opened, she realised that the spell had worked after all. Cherry gasped for as much air as she could, her arms and legs shaking from the near death experience. Once she had gotten a hold of herself, she stood up, once again summoning minions to aid in the fight.

Taconia, Medusa and Stheno all caught up to the fight, seeing what was going on. "Guys! Stop attacking it!" Stheno shouted, getting the attention of the four. Cyclonio, noticing the Wheel's ring moving closer, agreed, telling both Terrano and Hydranian to stop attacking. Any of the minions that Cherry had summoned were either killed by the tendrils or ended up retreating. The two tendrils fused the Wheel of Fate back together, right as the ring came back around, preparing to switch its element. However, Cherry jumped onto the ring, forcing the Wheel to switch to the element of Air, instead of Energy, as it had intended. Hydranian ended up encasing the Wheel's head in a large chunk of ice, forcing them to have to divert their attention to getting the chunk of ice off of their head, instead of reverting their element to Energy.

"NOW!" Cherry shouted, being thrown off of the ring. Taconia appeared above the Wheel from behind, wielding her emerald Soul Rippers. Preparing for one final blow, Taconia shouted: "SHINOBI!!!" Taconia struck the ring as hard as she could, shattering the ring to pieces once more, what pieces of it that were left slowly crumbling away to metallic dust, then disappearing into the wind. Taconia then decided to reclaim her sapphire Soul Rippers from what little was left of the Wheel's ring. As a result, the group had assumed that the Wheel was permanently stuck in an Air elemental state, an element that Cyclonio knew exactly how to deal with. The group unleashed hell onto the Wheel of Fate, hitting it from all directions. The Wheel, as a result of losing its unique ability, was forced to use the abilities that were currently available to it. The Wheel delivered a kick to Cyclonio's jaw, only for Taconia to come in and strike it from behind, as it saw Cherry heal Cyclonio's wound. It had become apparent that as a result of losing its ring, the Wheel was left in a state of panic, attempting to fight the group as if it still had the ring.

Cyclonio took out his energy sword, severing one of the Wheel's legs, while Hydranian would throw several chunks of ice, formed from the water vapour in the air, at the now-vulnerable Wheel as Terrano created a mallet out of the ground to throw at the Wheel before hitting them with a pillar, Medusa then threw a set of explosive daggers at the Wheel, leaving it vulnerable to Stheno's eye laser. Taconia created a portal for her to jump into, then cutting the wheel in the leg before opening up another portal to attack again, and again, and again, until she was reaching incredible speeds. "The hell?!" Cyclonio said, witnessing the attack. Cyclonio simply shrugged it off, deciding to cheer on Taconia. "Get em, person I can't remember!"

"Her name's Taconia," Medusa said, looking at Cyclonio.

"Taconia? What kind of name is that?"

"Hey, don't ask me. It's probably a nickname, honestly."

However, it wouldn't be long until the Wheel remembered its true purpose: Ensure that its definition of fate, which it saw as the one true outcome, came true. It took the time to focus its mind on how to carry out this outcome, blocking out any pain from any attacks, then seeing the path to victory that was supposedly carved out for it. The Wheel, using the elemental currently available to it, sent everyone around it flying, then creating an air vortex around itself, however, instead of using it for combat purposes, it was using it for harvesting purposes. "The hell's it doing?" Taconia said, looking at the Wheel, then noticing scraps of the ring slowly coming together. "Oh... OH NO." Taconia said, realising exactly what was happening. In retaliation, she dashed towards the Wheel, attacking it from all angles. However, amazingly the Wheel grabbed Taconia by the head, flinging her to the ground, creating a small crater. "TACONIA!" Cherry shouted, summoning three minions to retrieve Taconia so that she could heal her.

Slowly, more and more pieces of the Wheel's ring began coming towards the vortex, the Wheel reassembling the pieces as they approached. "We can't let it switch elements again!" Medusa shouted, as she was hit in the head by a piece of the ring. Terrano stomped on the ground, forming a massive wall around him, the Wheel and the others. However, despite this barricade, the pieces continued coming, stacking on top of one another and going over the wall. The Wheel's ring was starting to take shape once more. "W-we'll be fine, right? Pieces of the ring turned into dust! All of us saw that, right?" Cyclonio said, for the first time, completely unsure of how they were supposed to defeat this elemental. "Besides, we can just fling him into space, right?"

"We can't! That ring, I don't know WHAT it does, but if we only fling the Wheel, it'll come back to the ring, and vice versa!" Stheno said, reminding Cyclonio of the Wheel's bond with its ring.

"S**t, Uh... Ian! Cycloid transformation!" Cyclonio said as he and Hydranian attempted to form a Cycloid to attack the Wheel with, only for the transformation to come undone. "Cy, the hell's going on?" Hydranian asked, realising that the fusion failed.

"Kind of panicking here, Ian! We're running out of options!"

It was at this moment that Terrano noticed specks of shiny, silver dust beginning to appear around him and the others, headed in the direction of the vortex that the Wheel had created in order to retrieve the pieces of the ring. "F**k me..." Terrano thought to himself, seeing the specks of the ring slowly coming back together. Cherry was tending to Taconia's wounds when she saw specks of metal beginning to fly towards the ring. "No matter what we do, or how we fight it, it's always got a way to come back from death!" Cherry thought to herself, seeing the ring slowly come back together. However, at this very moment, Cherry realised what she believed may very well be the key to defeating the Wheel and its definition of fate."Wait a minute... fight it... what if we CAN'T beat it through violent means for a reason? What if we tried convincing it that its very existence went against its concept of fate?" Cherry finished tending to Taconia's wounds and ran towards the Wheel as fast as she could.

The Wheel had finished fixing its ring, by spinning it to the point where it reforged itself, in a sense. The Wheel then stared down the group, but not before noticing Cherry run towards it. "HEY!" Cherry shouted to the Wheel, getting its attention. "Tarot Ten, Wheel of Fate, right?" Cherry asked the Wheel, not getting a response. "In any case, you're probably only carrying out what your tarot represents, right?" The Wheel turned its head to the side, seemingly confused as to what Cherry was trying to prove. "If we're going off of you're tarot's namesake, you're most likely only carrying out the steps necessary to ensure your view of fate comes true!"

"The hell's she doing?" Cyclonio asked the others, concerned that Cherry was going to get herself killed.

"Wait, she might be onto something." Medusa said, telling Cyclonio to stand down.

"Well, listen. I'm going to guess you're working for Kronos, if that's the case, I don't know if he informed you, but eventually, everything's going to end up dead, everything. Not just us, everything. Even if your fate ends up being seen through, it'll end up being in vain. You can try and try all you want to maintain your fate, but eventually, it'll all be in vain. Kronos and the others will end up getting rid of you once their definition of fate, not yours, is seen through. Do you really think that following them, your fate wil be seen through? Do you think it's even worth seeing through your fate if you're just going to end up losing in the end, against either our side or Kronos? Give it up, Wheel, you know your very existence in this world is flawed. Go back to what you were before. That is your fate." Cherry said, attempting to convince the Wheel that no matter what, it would always end up losing. Even if it ended up winning this battle, it would only end up losing the war, no matter which side it took. The Wheel, unsure how to take this, began twitching, more and more, its ring beginning to spin uncontrollably.

Then, the Wheel let out a bloodcurdling scream. If its definition of fate were to be doomed, no matter what, what was its purpose? Just to stand on the sidelines? Just to serve as a stepping stone for Kronos? What was it? The Wheel only screamed more at this thought, as its ring shattered into pieces, gone for good. "BLOCK YOUR EARS!" Cherry shouted to the others, as they all blocked their ears in order to not hear the Wheel's screams of pain. The Wheel only began to realise more and more that its whole purpose was now fundamentally flawed. Slowly, but gradually, its view of what fate was true began to change, but not to the fate it saw as best for it, but the fate that it saw as best for the survival of the universe, of its former friends, of its fellow test subjects, of what scientists were left, of the ones who would appear once it was gone, the ones after them, and so forth. Slowly, but gradually, the Wheel began to realise that in order for this fate to be seen through, Kronos had to be stopped. The Wheel held its hand out, impaling their core with it, and ripping its heart out, taking the time to stare at it, how dark it had become since Famine had corrupted it, then finally, falling to the ground. The Wheel of Fate, or, well, its lifeless corpse, shifted through its six elements. Air, Water, Earth, Fire, Void, then finally, Energy. Its true element.

The Wheel's body then slowly crumbled away into embers of light, these embers allowing for the sky around Inamorta to once again be bright. The Wheel of Fate had finally been stopped, its definition of fate, defeated. It appeared, as if the Wheel's corpse also knew that it was unable to exist, so long as it was serving Famine and to an extent, Kronos. Cyclonio let out a sigh, realising that, because the Wheel of Fate was an energy elemental, he too, would end up dying this way, as a result of his new elemental alignment. "So, now that's done, do you want to explain what you meant by the Soulwrath?" Medusa asked Taconia, who had just woken up from her injuries. "Huh? Oh-right! Uhh, pull a chair, this might take some explaining."

Chapter XIV: The Empress & Emperor

While Famine was unaware of it, Kronos had been observing Famine's actions and how they communicated with their Chosen from the very beginning and had witnessed everything that had happened as a result of them. From when Famine first attacked the Elementalian laboratory, to Zealon's demise at the hands of Lenathor, now the Magician. Behind Kronos, were the Empress and Emperor, the masterminds of Famine's chosen, who had witnessed the defeats of all of the chosen before them, taking note of how they were defeated, why they were defeated, and how they could ensure the defeat of the Outlaws. "I grow weary of your master's idling. From here on, you and your remaining comrades no longer serve under Famine, you serve under me." The Empress and Emperor bowed down to Kronos, wishing to treat him with the highest respect possible, even more so than the respect they gave Famine. "For too long, your former master has kept you back, restricting your potential, your ability to destroy planets. I believe you two are knowledgeable as to why you were designated the tarot of the Empress and Emperor, correct?"

"We represent leadership, authoritative power, order. We are the ones which unite all others when none will." The Empress, still bowing before Kronos' feet, said.

"You are correct when you say that you both are capable of uniting all under a single flag. However, if you choose to invert the meanings of your cards, what are you then?"

"We represent tyranny, corruption, chaos. While we can unite our people, we can also incite anarchy among them just as easily." The Emperor said, reflecting on the meaning of his and the Empress' tarots. A low-pitched, but incredibly powerful bell was heard in Kronos' section of the Abyss, sounding identical to the bells any regular stickman would hear at a funeral. While it did catch the attention of the three, only Kronos decided to look at the source of the sound, seeing a "building" crumble to pieces outside of his domain. When, in reality, all the Abyss truly was, or will ever be, is a reflection of Kronos' headspace. An infernal, neverending nightmare, one which he wished to inflict upon as many innocent lives as possible, all simply for his own personal gain. "You are also correct in say that, Emperor." Kronos said, then looking away from the crumbling building to look back at the Empress and Emperor.

"However, there is a key word that is present in both meanings, one which has been forgotten to time, but despite this, is incredibly significant to both of you, this word in particular states that the Empress and Emperor symbolise the culmination of one's being, their most powerful self, their prime, if you wish to call it that. You two are the culmination of all of the research done by the scientists in Elementalia. However, it appears as if your power has been kept under limit, this whole time. So I have removed your limiters, in the hopes that you will destroy Medusa and Stheno, as well as the other elementals who seem to be helping the traitors out. Judgement, The Wheel of Fate, The Magician and even Euryale have failed to accomplish this task. Most have been met with defeat, one, with death. You will defeat them." Kronos said to the Empress and Emperor, signalling for them to stop bowing before him. "But do know, if you fail, and they do not strike you down, I will be waiting for you when you return to the Abyss."

"Yes, Lord Kronos." The Empress and Emperor said to Kronos as they vanished from the Abyss. The Empress and Emperor appeared in the centre of a crater which appeared to have once been a mountain, this mountain having been converted into a base of sorts, burned photo frames, furniture and electronics present in the ruins. The Empress prepared to fly towards Elementalia, only to be held back by the Emperor. Confused, the Empress raised an eyebrow. "We will not make the mistakes the elementals before us have made." The Emperor said, then drawing attention to the fact that the Magician, who was still a torso in prison, was still available to be used as a decoy. The Empress nodded, quietly waiting in the ruins of the mountain as she saw the Emperor fade out of thin air.

Inside of the Magician's holding cell, Lenathor was sitting around, having both witnessed and endured all of the attacks orchestrated by Death & Euryale, Judgement, The Hierophant and the Ice Trio. "This element... It's a curse. They exploit my immortality so that I can provide them information on the others but don't bother giving someone up so that they can kill me for good. What is the point of being unable to die if your whole life is just suffering?" Lenathor thought to himself, then seeing a prison guard come in to provide him with his food. "Only a few more elementals until we're be able to kill you for good, you monster." The guard said, looking at Lenathor, who simply glared back at him. However, at that moment, the Emperor materialised within Lenathor's prison cell, scaring the guard and causing Lenathor to simply take a side glance at the V standing before him. The guard took out a stun baton, believing that he could take the Emperor on his own.

"Give up your weapon, you know it is futile to attempt to fight me." The Emperor said to the guard, causing them to drop their baton and just stare at the Emperor. "The age of the free elemental is no more. It is time for you to kneel before the age of Famine, mortal." The guard dropped to his knees, then grovelling at the Emperor's feet, only to be reduced to a bloody mess within Lenathor's cell, along with the rest of the guards in the prison. Lenathor simply glared at the Emperor when they turned around, asking: "What the hell do you want, Emperor? Did Famine finally decide to bring you guys out?"

"No, I now serve Kronos. I am here to grant you one last chance at defeating the elementals once and for all, Magician. I will be allowing you access to a fragment of my power, but only for you to kill all of the Outlaws. If I become aware that you are on the side of the Outlaws, or have failed to destroy them, I will make sure that your death will be permanent."

"Guess what, numbnut, I CAN'T die. I'm a Void Elemental. I'm gonna end up killing you as well."

"That would be the case for any normal Elemental. However, I am a V. One which has thrown away my other selves in order to become my strongest. I am invincible, Magician. To simply get rid of you, however, would be a waste of resources."

"Alright, cut the crap. What the hell do you REALLY want me to do?"

"Take out the Elementalian throne. I believe that you have a personal vendetta of sorts with them, correct?" The Emperor said, then looking at Lenathor, who was looking at him dead in the eyes, clearly annoyed that he felt as if the Emperor had been mocking him for this long. "Alright, alright, alright, just GIMME THE DAMN POWER." Lenathor said, as the Emperor bestowed a fraction of his power onto Lenathor, causing his limbs to regenerate and his whole body to begin glowing a pale white colour. "I'll take care of the royals." The Magician said, seeing the Emperor fade away. The Magician took the time to be readjusted to the abilities of a V, then blowing the complete top of the prison off, and flying towards the palace.

The Elementalian King was busy ensuring that Elementalia had been completely repaired after the several attacks it had endured, as well as ensuring that whoever came to him in his throne room had their requests either answered or dealt with in the best way possible. However, to the king, it felt as if something was clearly wrong, as if something was missing. Something, or someone? Screams were heard from outside of the throne room, causing the king to get up out of his throne to try and get a better glimpse of what was going on outside. "Guards, what's going on out there?" The king asked the guards, who were trembling in fear over what was causing the chaos outside of the throne room. However, at that moment, The Magician burst into the throne room, sending the guards in front of the entrance flying out of the way. "Guess who, my lord?" The Magician said, grinning at the king.

"Who are you? What have you done to my people?!" The king said in response, taking his sword out and aiming it at the Magician.

"Oh, please. You can't honestly tell me you don't remember who I am! After all, I always was the funniest person in here, wasn't I?" The Magician said, causing the king to remember exactly who he was. "Lenathor... t-the court jester?! Why are you doing this?!"

"It's simple, my lord. I want the throne. And I'll use ANY means of getting it. Would you kindly tell me how your boy's been?"

It was at this moment that the king knew exactly what was missing. His son had vanished from his side, only to appear to be held by the leg by the Magician, still smiling at the king. "It's your choice, my lord." The Magician said, then using his new powers as a V to ignite a beam of pure plasma from his wrists, aiming it towards the Elementalian prince's neck. "The throne? Or your kid? Which is it gonna be?" The Magician said, seeing that both the king and guards were visibly horrified by what the Magician was doing. The prince attempted to break free from the Magician's hold, only to be hit in the back of the head, then being told: "Quit being such an insolent brat or I'll kill you and your father right here, right now!" The Magician then looked back at the king. "Well, my lord?! Give me the throne, or your kid ends up six feet under! And frankly, I don't think any of you would want that on your conscience, would you?!"

However, as if on instinct, instead of answering the demands of the Magician, the Elementalian king stomped his foot on the ground, sending a pillar down onto The Magician, jumping at him to shield his child from the pillar. The guards ran to the king to make sure he was okay, but he simply handed his child to the guards, looking at the Magician, who destroyed the pillar on top of him, looking at the king, angry. "Get him to safety!" The king said to the guards, not concerned for himself, but for his child's safety.

"But sir-"

"THAT'S AN ORDER!" The guards carrying the king's son ran out of the palace as fast as they could, contacting the Outlaws to get to the palace immediately. The remaining guards guarded the exit to the throne room, believing that the Magician was intending to kill any members of the royalty. "You think you protecting your kid is going to change anything, my lord? Once I take the throne, your kid's next!" The Magician said to the king and the guards, preparing to kill every last person in the throne room and take the king's place as ruler of Elementalia. "Men, it has been an honor to have you guard my family with your life. However, this may very well be our last fight." The king said, staring down the Magician as he readied himself for a fight.

The Withered Confier landed at the foot of the palace, seeing the guards running out with the king's son, who was both screaming and crying. "What's going on in there?" Cyclonio said to one of the guards.

"The king! He needs you!" The guard said in response, Cyclonio nodding in response as he grabbed Stheno and Terrano and flew towards the entrance of the palace while Medusa and Hydranian followed on foot. "Where are they?" Medusa said to the others before all five of the Outlaws heard the noise of bones being broken come from the throne room. The five ran towards the room as fast as they could, praying that the king and whoever was in the throne room was safe. However, what they saw horrified even Terrano. The rooms, which once had a beautiful marble floor, was now stained a blood red, shields and corpses littered the area, pillars had been destroyed, and in the throne, where the king once sat, was the Magician, holding the king's bloodied head, still attached to his spine. The Magician noticed the five, deciding to smirk at them. "Turns out he had a brain in him after all." He then threw the king's head towards the feet of the Outlaws, causing them to look at the Magician in disgust. "I never intended to kill him, just his child, and then I'd be on my way. But, that's aside the point. Long time no see, Outlaws."

"You mean... You intended to kill a kid?" Terrano said, looking at the Magician in disgust. "I might have been brainwashed by the High Priestess, but I remember Famine specifically telling us that if we even DARED to hurt a child, we'd be attacked by the others!"

The Magician simply laughed at Terrano's comment, looking at him with a smug expression. "And you think that I'd listen to that swarm of bugs? I'm surprised they didn't put you under The Fool."

"Lenathor, this is crazy! You think trying to kill a kid's alright? Not even I would end up doing that!" Stheno said, defending Terrano.

"And that is why Death severed their connection with you, Stheno. You've gone soft. BOTH of you have." The Magician said to Stheno, then looking at both her and Medusa.

"Alright, I've had enough of this! Get him!" Medusa shouted as the Outlaws attacked the Magician. Terrano attempted to summon an earthen flail to crush the Magician's head in, only for the flail's head to be sent flying towards Terrano, allowing for the Magician to fire a V laser aimed at Terrano's head. However, Cyclonio jumped in front of the laser, attempting to presumably absorb the energy in the attack. However, the beam instead struck Cyclonio, sending him flying into the roof. "What? How did he-"

"Oh, what's that? Confused as to why your little absorption trick didn't work? This isn't energy, it's PLASMA." The Magician said, then charging up a plasma ball and throwing it at Medusa, who was attempting to hit him with a set of explosive daggers.

"Damn it... I'll have to find another way to deflect the beams, then!" Cyclonio thought to himself, then noticing Stheno appear from behind him and fling one of her electric swords at the Magician. However, the Magician grabbed the sword by the blade, causing his hand to begin bleeding. Stheno, realising that so long as they were able to damage the Magician, they were able to kill him, silently said "Yes!" to herself, but, strangely enough, the Magician simply laughed at Stheno as his wound healed almost immediately. Throwing the sword aside, the Magician looked at the group. "Look at you all. You've had it easy up until now. Judgement, The Wheel of Fate, The Hierophant, even The Tower, all of them are inferior to the people you are about to face now, Outlaws. It's just a shame you won't be around to see you fight them!" The Magician said, taking a good long look at all of the Outlaws.

"No more games, Lenathor! Who's helping you this time?!" Medusa said in anger, preparing a pistol filled with explosive bullets. The Magician simply shook his head, then smiling at Medusa. "Nobody. Do you remember when the Hermit converted me into a V?"

Medusa, having realised what had happened, pointed the pistol at the Magician and filled him with bullets, waiting for the magazine to be emptied so she could detonate all the bullets at once. However, the Magician didn't bother dodging or even trying to fight back, he simply allowed the bullets to enter his body. "Go on, try it. If you kill me, so be it. But, if you end up failing, you will die."

Medusa, tired of hearing the Magician's voice, detonated all of the bullets at once, creating a massive explosion in the centre of the throne room. As a result, the Magician's body was horribly disfigured. Holes were all over his body, some of his limbs had been blown off, even outright destroyed in the explosion. Even his head was not safe from the damage, half of it had been blown off, revealing a swirling sphere of pure plasma, a trait that was a dead giveaway of a V posing as an elemental. Seeing this, Cyclonio's expression changed to a shocked one, realising exactly what was going on. The Magician's body slowly came back together, eventually being good as new once again. "You cannot win, Medusa. I've already told you this. But, this was part of our agreement. So, how do I say it... Goodbye, Traitor." The Magician said, grabbing Medusa and slamming her into the floor of the throne room, knocking her out.

Terrano, now in his Chompler state, attempted to grab the Magician and slam them into the floor. However, he simply resisted, breaking out of Terrano's arms and flying up to the Chompler. "I'd like to thank you for being the one to give me this body, Hanged Man. It's because of your sacrifice that all of you are now going to die." The Magician then said, pummeling Terrano into a pulp, forcing him to revert into his elemental state.

"Get away from him, you b**ch!" Cyclonio said, igniting his energy sword and beheading the Magician. Hydranian then followed through by throwing the Magician's body away from Terrano, to make sure that Terrano didn't end up dying a second time. However, both parts of the Magician were still alive and well. As to how he was still alive was unknown. The Magician ignored Terrano, who was unconscious as a result of the beating that he received. Stheno attempted to attack the body, only to be punched into a wall and left there, some of her cybernetics having been damaged from the impact. Meanwhile, Cyclonio attempted to destroy the Magician's head with his energy sword. However, the Magician fired a beam of plasma from his body directed at Cyclonio's hand, severely burning it and outright destroying the energy sword. Cyclonio fell to the ground and screamed in pain as a result of his injury, then noticing Hydranian, who was looking at the Magician, who was putting his head back on his body. "Pathetic, perhaps you could do some form of damage to me, Hydranian?" The Magician said, mocking Hydranian and attempting to get him to attack, so that he could make his victory all the better.

Hydranian, however, instead of attempting to attack the Magician again, began to breathe heavier and heavier, his vision blurring as he looked around to see his allies, his friends, his new family, all beaten to bloody pulps by the Magician. His heartbeat and breathing slowly began to become the only thing he could hear as he clenched his fists. Cyclonio, having noticed this, tried to get up to his feet, saying to Hydranian: "Ian, keep it together! He's just trying to get into your head!" However, Hydranian was unable to hear Cyclonio's pleas, being only able to hear his thoughts. "Pull yourself together Hydranian... You can't end up losing it now... Not like this." Hydranian thought to himself as the air in the room slowly began to become colder and colder.

Several images flashed through Hydranian's mind as he was attempting to calm himself down. First, the image of his village, a town which looked up to him as its leader, its chief, its soul, appeared in his head, later fading away into the ruins of the village that he saw when he returned after killing his niece, The Moon. The image of him with his wife on their wedding day, a day which brought him joy when nothing else would later appear in his mind, only for the image to be burnt to a crisp and replaced by the memory of him holding his wife's dead body, his pleas as he begged for her to wake up, believing that she was not dead. His mind cut back to an image of his village of fire, then focusing on Medusa, Stheno and Lenathor appearing through the fire, how Lenathor laughed at his suffering, how he mocked him. Then, the image of Crystallo, his son, when he was still a little kid, hugging him by the leg, surfaced in Hydranian's mind before being replaced by an image of Crystallo, now a young adult, smiling to him a smile that reassured him that everything was going to be alright as Hydranian and the Outlaws left Westwind. The final image to appear in his mind was that of the Outlaws, Zealon, Medusa, Cyclonio, Terrano, Stheno, all enjoying themselves.

"Lenathor... Magician... This whole time, I've been fighting for revenge. Now, I see what I really need to fight for now. LET'S FINISH THIS!" Hydranian's senses finally came back to him. However, he was no longer determined to finish off the Magician for what he had done to his village and his people. Now, he was more determined than ever to finish off the Magician, if not for the sake of Elementalia, then for his son, so that he had at least a second chance in life, among the stickmen in Westwind. In one powerful cry, he created a blizzard, much stronger than the one Justice had created, within the throne room as he stared at the Magician dead in the eyes.

This sudden explosion of rage was so powerful, the Magician's once cocky demeanor was shattered, replaced with true terror at what he was witnessing. The Magician was unable to sweat, as his sweat simply froze the minute it left his body. Hydranian's eyes were replaced with a cobalt blue glow, as he stared directly into the Magician's soul. "Oh Lord... The Moon's exhibited this behaviour before, but- this is Hydranian, if the Moon was that powerful, how powerful is he going to be- Wait- Damn it, calm down! He's just the same elemental you fought back at the village-" The Magician's thought was cut short as Hydranian screamed in anger, punching the Magician in the temple and sending them flying into one of the palace walls, causing the entire throne room to shake.

Hydranian turned to Cyclonio, the only one of two Outlaws still conscious. "Go, get the others to safety. I'll deal with him myself."

"Ian, you're gonna-"

"Do as I say before I end up killing everyone in here!" Hydranian shouted, interrupting Cyclonio, who then nodded, deciding to pick up Terrano and run out of the throne room. Stheno got back up on her feet, putting Medusa on her back and following Cyclonio out of the palace.

The Magician got back up, attempting to fire an energy beam at the four, however, Hydranian slammed his left foot onto the floor of the throne room, forming a pillar of ice from both the top and bottom of the room to attack the Magician's hand, striking so hard, it ended up shattering every bone in the his hand, causing him to grab it with his other hand and scream in pain, seeing the blood of a V dripping out from it. The Magician, trying not to show any fear, reverted back to their cocky state, still clinging to their shattered hand. "It's taken you this long to finally realise that you're the one that I've wanted to fight." The Magician said, using his abilities as a V to heal his wound. "For too long, you've been a thorn in my side, Hydranian. I grow tired of you getting in my way. Let's finish this, shall we?"

Hydranian, focused on nothing more than finishing the Magician off once and for all, ignored the Magician's taunt. "Don't hold back, I WANT to make sure that you suffer the worst possible defeat, Lenathor!"

"As I said to Stheno after I murdered your family, your kind are nothing more than sub-crawler trash to me. This will be about as easy as blinking!" The Magician said in response, flying towards Hydranian, attempting to cut his head off with a well placed energy blade attack. Hydranian responded by summoning an axe made of a new type of ice Hydranian was now capable of forming. This ice was navy blue in colour, as durable as even the toughest of Technium armour and as powerful as the collective abilities of one-hundred Water Elementals. Hydranian had the axe clash with the blade, causing the blade that the Magician had summoned to disappate and attack the Magician. "What?!" The Magician shouted out in disbelief, seeing that he was unable to harm Hydranian in this new state he was in.

Hydranian looked at the axe, then himself, seeing that he was emanating a dark blue aura that froze anything around him. "What the hell's this power that I've gotten? No... It couldn't be..." Hydranian thought to himself, then looking at the Magician, who was holding his arm, which was now bleeding from the attack. "Incredible... Well, if it is this power, then let's not put it to waste!" Hydranian then thought, stomping the ground in front of him and causing several ice pillars to erupt from the ground, sending the Magician flying into the roof. In retaliation, the Magician fired a V laser at Hydranian, believing that the plasma would be able to pass his aura and strike him. However, Hydranian summoned an ice wall to absorb the laser, the shield melting just as the laser disappated. Hydranian jumped towards the Magician, having the water in the air fly towards him at high speeds, cutting him in several places.

The Magician took the time to heal his wounds, however, Hydranian managed to make new wounds just as fast, rendering his healing useless. "He can bypass my healing?!" The Magician thought to himself, seeing that while his wounds were being healed, the creation of new ones slowed down the healing speed of the old ones. Hydranian, having also noticed this, came up with an idea. "Alright, Lenathor," Hydranian said, throwing his weapons aside and holding his arms out to either side. "COME AT ME!" Hydranian then shouted, attempting to use the Magician's tricks on himself. Feeling as if he was being patronised, the Magician looked at Hydranian in disbelief. "There's no way he's acting this stupid on purpose! He's taking me for a fool!" The Magician allowed for all of his wounds to heal before letting out a scream and flying towards Hydranian. The Magician summoned five fireballs, throwing them one at a time, only for Hydranian to retaliate by using the snow from the blizzard to extinguish the fireballs before he could be harmed, the ones he was unable to stop being extinguished as a result of his aura.

The Magician then caused the ground in the palace to shake, trying to throw him off balance so that he could uppercut his jaw. However, Hydranian saw this and jumped into the air, delivering a hammer kick to the back of the Magician's head. "Why isn't this working?! I'm a V! He's an Ice Elemental! This shouldn't be happening!" The Magician thought to himself before Hydranian stomped on his head several times, aiming to knock him out. However, The Magician took this as an opportunity to grab Hydranian and throw him into the air for an attack. The Magician increased the air pressure around Hydranian, aiming to crush him from the inside-out. Hydranian was unable to do anything to counter this with physical attacks, being held in the air by the pressure. However, Hydranian instead opted to take this time to remember exactly what he was fighting for. Elementalia, his friends, his family, his son. Hydranian's aura grew stronger, eventually completely negating the pressure around him, shocking the Magician.

Frustrated, the Magician jumped towards Hydranian and attempted to beat him into a bloody pulp through a flurry of attacks. "DIE-DIE-DIE-DIE-DIE-DIE-DIE-DIE! WHY WON'T YOU JUST STAY DEAD?!" The Magician screamed, clearly irritated with Hydranian's resistance against him. Hydranian fought back with his own attacks, either blocking or redirecting the Magician's attacks somewhere else, then delivering an uppercut to the Magician's jaw, sending the Magician flying away from him. Hydranian started sweating, seeing his opponent on the ground, clinging to the bottom of his jaw. When Hydranian took a closer look at where the Magician was hit, he saw that there were clear signs of frostbite on the wound. Realising this, Hydranian darted towards the Magician, hitting him with his own flurry of attacks, some missing, some hitting, others being blocked. But despite the hits being blocked, the frostbite was still there.

The Magician then sent Hydranian away from him, instead opting to tap into the powers of the fusion elementals. The Magician used the powers of a Charrog to create an aura around himself that was supposed to counter this mysterious aura that Hydranian had been blessed with, then further increasing his defense through the use of a Cycloid shield. The Magician then summoned for himself a swarm of V clones, aiming to take out Hydranian by swarming him and ripping him to shreds. Not saying anything, Hydranian allowed his axe to melt away, opting to fight the clones and the Magician only through his elemental powers and pure strength. "Take as much time as you need to power up, Hydranian, because this will be the last time you will ever get a chance!" The Magician said, wanting to ensure that he would be able to defeat Hydranian, even at his strongest.

Hydranian accepted the Magician's challenge, however, he also asked for something in return. "Fine, but if you want me to go all out, I want you to do the same, Lenathor!" The Magician accepted this challenge as well, charging up for an onslaught of attacks that he would deliver in an attempt to win the fight. Hydranian also took this time to charge up, his freezing aura only getting colder and colder, eventually encapsulating the entire room. Hydranian then exited his stance, taking the time to breathe in and once again remember exactly what was at stake, and what he was fighting for. Remembering this, Hydranian's eyes no longer shined a cobalt blue, instead, his pupils had converted from their usual brown colour to an icy blue colour. Hydranian entered a fighting stance, looking at the multiple V clones in front of him. The Magician simply smiled, seeing the clones lunge out to attack Hydranian.

Multiple clones attacked Hydranian all at once, with Hydranian firing several sharp shards of ice at the clones, freezing them and causing them to shatter as they hit the ground. Hydranian also fought back through delivering a kick to one of the V clones, sending it flying into several other clones. Hydranian jumped into the air and punched the ground, causing the entire floor to become ice, if only for a minute. However, this minute would provide Hydranian with enough time to destroy even more of the clones, slowly getting closer and closer to the Magician, who was staring in disbelief at his archenemy's mysterious new powers. In an attempt to turn the battle in his favour, he charged up a V laser and fired it at Hydranian, who, strangely enough, grabbed the laser, and threw it at the clones that were aiming to flank him, then staring at the Magician.

"You want to fight like that?! Fine! Let's fight like that!" The Magician said, firing more and more lasers at Hydranian, who either redirected the lasers at the clones, or simply dodged them. Hydranian delivered a kick to the Magician's waist, sending them away from the throne. "Not bad for some sub-crawler trash! Maybe you should have spent more time fighting instead of dodging and deflecting!" The Magician shouted, causing Hydranian to stop dead in his tracks.

"So, you think that I've only survived for this long because I've dodged your attacks? Fine, let's see how I do with a point-blank hit to the face." Hydranian said, moving closer and closer to the Magician, who was slowly becoming scared of Hydranian. "What's wrong? You can't kill a man who's asking for death?" The Magician, annoyed with Hydranian's taunts, charged up a V hyperbeam, aimed directly for Hydranian's face. "See you in the Abyss, scum." The Magician said, firing the beam directly in Hydranian's face, smiling at seeing the beam fire. However, once the smoke cleared, Hydranian was still standing, not even fazed by the hit. "What?! He can survive the hyperbeam?!" The Magician thought to himself before realising that Hydranian had grabbed his left arm, which was now beginning to freeze at a dangerously fast rate. The Magician attempted to get Hydranian's hand off of his arm, but it was too late, the frostbite had forced the Magician's arm to be destroyed once more, causing him tremendous pain.

"It's plainly obvious that you're tired, Lenathor. To kill you now would be mercy. You can live, but without the use of one of your arms. No matter what you end up doing, you won't ever be able to harm another elemental, EVER again." Hydranian said, looking at the Magician, who had an utterly defeated expression as he clinged to his destroyed arm. "Why- you..! I'LL SHOW YOU MERCY!" The Magician thought to himself, then summoning a plasma shuriken and throwing it at Hydranian. However, Hydranian also summoned an ice shuriken, throwing it, causing the two shurikens to clash. Eventually, Hydranian's shuriken broke through the Magician's, causing him to gasp in disbelief as he was cut in half by the shuriken, also losing the use of his right arm. Hydranian let out a sigh, then looking at the Magician. "I offered you mercy, but instead you take it as an opportunity to kill me. Very well then. It's become clear that you cannot live. Your time ends here, Lenathor."

"You kill me, I'll end up-"

"I'm aware of that, but if I'm being honest, I no longer care about my life being lost. As long as my son is able to live in a world where he can live freely, I will be able to pass on peacefully." Hydranian said, summoning a spear made of ice, causing the Magician to realise that Hydranian was serious, completely shattering his cocky personality and replacing it with his fear of death. "Wait-wait-wait, y-you don't have to do this, man! I can change! I swear on it! Just- put the spear down, and we'll talk this through-" Hydranian impaled the spear through Lenathor's left eye, causing him to scream "NOOOOO!!!!!" in fear, defeat and pain, realising that his time had finally run out. He wouldn't be mercy killed by the Emperor, or even Kronos. Instead, he had to suffer the painful death that all Void Elementals had to go through, for the second, and last, time in his life. Hydranian, however, simply closed his eyes, believing that he had finally accomplished what he believed he was always supposed to do, accepting his fate.

"Crystallo, I'm so sorry..." Hydranian thought to himself, only to see that another soul had taken his place, one that was similar to his, but clearly not his soul.

"Hey, Zio. I'm... sorry about what I did, to the village, to everyone. I'm- I'm hoping that through this, it'll make up what I did. I really am sorry. For everything." The soul of Gelida, The Moon, took the place of Hydranian's soul in the ritual, allowing Hydranian to live, while also ensuring that Lenathor would be destroyed for good, along with the Magician. "Gelida? Wait- NO, GELIDA!" Hydranian shouted, seeing both his niece and Lenathor's souls be destroyed in a violent explosion that destroyed the throne room, sending him flying out of the ruins and into the lobby of the palace. Hydranian ran back into the ruins of the throne room, seeing that Lenathor's body was nowhere to be seen, clearly different to how it was when Terrano sacrificed himself to stop Lenathor. "It's finally over..." Hydranian said to himself, then realising that his body was slwoly beginning to fall asleep, most likely due to exhaustion. "Gelida... from the bottom of my heart, thank you." Hydranian then thought to himself, staring into the sky, which had begun to clear up. Hydranian's appearance slowly returned to normal, his aura beginning to fade away. He then let out a sigh, slowly trying to walk towards where the Outlaws were waiting, feeling his body slowly giving out the closer he got to the exit. In a last-ditch attempt, Hydranian sent out an ice bolt to get the group's attention, to show that he was still alive, then finally falling to the ground, exhausted from the fight, as well as his goal of avenging his people having been accomplished.

Cyclonio noticed the ice bolt fly out of the palace, immediately figuring out that it was a message from Hydranian that he was still alive. "He did it! He's in there waiting for us! Let's move!" Cyclonio said to the others as he almost instantly bolted towards the entrance of the Elementalian palace, having been ruined as a result of Hydranian's fight with the now-deceased Lenathor. When the four arrived at the entrance, they saw Hydranian, unconscious, but clearly still alive despite Lenathor's demise. "Someone check to make sure that Lenathor's completely gone!" Medusa said as Terrano ran into the throne room to check for any remains of Lenathor. "He did it, he finally killed Lenathor." Stheno said, looking at Hydranian.

"I'm happy for him, you know. He's wanted some form of revenge against Lenathor for so long, the fact that he was the one to finish him off, I think it was just meant to be, y'know?" Cyclonio said, grabbing Hydranian's arms and putting him on his back.

"He's out cold, we should probably get him into one of the beds in the ship so he can get some rest." Stheno said, looking at Hydranian's face, clearly exhausted from the fight. "He feels really cold, like as if I just put a large block of ice on my back, anyone know what's up with that?" Cyclonio asked as he carried Hydranian into the Withered Conifer's medical area. "He did end up getting this strange aura, right? Stheno, you saw that?" Cyclonio then said, noting that he had also obtained a dark blue aura before the fight between him and Lenathor. "Yeah, I think Medusa might have read something about that? Sis, any clue why Ian ended up getting this weird blue aura after you and Terrano got knocked out?"

"Well, it depends. What happened to him to cause the aura?"

"Well, he started breathing really heavy, seemed like he couldn't hear Cy, and then he just screamed in anger and the aura came. The whole throne room got really cold, too. I think it might have been him having memories of when we... You know."

"Oh god... Well, you're right, I did read about something like that. Under tremendous amounts of pressure, built up or not, an Elemental has the capability of completely shattering their own limits and boosting their power to something even a V could only dream of attaining. The first transformation is always the most painful, but gradually, Ian should be able to get more and more used to it. But, it's still concerning that he managed to attain it."

"So what would you call that?" Cyclonio said, putting Hydranian into the medical bed aboard the Withered Conifer.

"An Overcharged Elemental. You and Terrano could reach it, too. I probably could as well, considering the Elemental within me as a result of the Magician, but, I don't think it's that good of an idea to try it, considering what Hydranian's been through to obtain that ability." Medusa said, warning Cyclonio that while there was always the possibility that he and Terrano could also overcharge themselves, they would need to take into consideration what they would likely have to go through in order to attain it. "What the f**k- What makes you think I'm gonna go for it? I don't think anyone would want to go through what he's been through!" Cyclonio said, debunking Medusa's belief that he wanted to overcharge himself as well. "Well, regardless. It's good that Hydranian's alright. We've already lost Zealon, we can't lose another one of us." Stheno said, looking at Hydranian once again, noticing how he appeared to be twitching as a result of the sheer amount of power he had coursing through his body as a result of his Overcharged state.

Around half an hour later, Terrano entered the ship, saying to the others "I just checked the throne room, there's no sign of Lenathor's remains anywhere. He HAS to be dead." Cyclonio raised an eyebrow, thinking that Terrano was just bluffing. "Hang on a minute, we didn't realise this before, but; HOW is Hydranian still alive? There's no way that he would be able to just up and kill Lenathor and not end up dying as well." Stheno said, realising that they had forgotten that as long as Hydranian was alive, there was a likely chance that Lenathor was as well. However, a familiar voice greeted the four, it was Hydranian's. "Gelida gave her soul up to finish the sacrifice. I went in there fully expecting myself to end up dead, but here I am, still alive. I don't know how, but I'm grateful for what she did."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, Gelida? The Moon? The b**ch who TOLD Lenathor where your village was, the one who ended up being the person who caused your village to end up destroyed to begin with?" Cyclonio said, realising that it was the Moon of all people who gave up their soul to stop Lenathor once and for all.

"First off, call my niece that again, I'll kick your damn teeth in, Cy. At the end of the day, she is still my niece. And yes, she's the one who stopped Lenathor. I tried convincing her not too, but it was too late. It's because of her that I'm still here. Like I said, I'm grateful for what she did."

Back at the ruins of the mountain, the Empress and Emperor were discussing their plans for when the Outlaws inevitably showed up, especially now that the Magician had been destroyed for good. "The Magician has fallen. The Ice Elemental has also managed to attain his overcharged state." The Empress said to the Emperor, informing him of the issue at hand. "No matter, everything is still going according to plan. The Outlaws have been weakened. The Magician's power was merely a small sample of the power I am capable of putting out. One by one, or all at once, it does not matter, they WILL fall." The Emperor said to the Empress, attempting to tell them to calm down, as he believed that there were still no issues in his plan. The Emperor then sat back down, awaiting the arrival of the Outlaws, as he believed that, when they finally arrived, their times would finally be up, a time that the Emperor looked forward to, knowing that Kronos' plans for Elementalia would then remain unopposed.

The Withered Conifer's engines fired up, then it started flying towards where Cyclonio thought the base was. However, when they arrived at the area, they noticed that the mountain was nowhere to be seen. Confused, Cyclonio booted up the Withered Conifer's tracker for the base, only for it to show that they were indeed in the area that the base once was. "Uhh, guys? What happened to the base?" Cyclonio asked the others as they each looked at the mountain where the base once stood. Terrano noticed that there were three stickmen at the site of the mountain. One of which he immediately deducted as Judgement's lifeless body, still somehow inactive, but the other two were still unknown. Then, a large pillar of earth struck the Withered Conifer's left wing, ripping it off of the ship and causing it to plummet to the ground. "Ian, now would be a good time to make us a new wing!" Terrano shouted, clinging onto a part of the Withered Conifer as Hydranian formed a temporary wing for the Withered Conifer to glide down to the ground with.

The ship glided down to the ground, a few metres away from where the three stickmen were awaiting. When the Outlaws arrived, they saw Judgement's limp body, now kneeling on the ground and two V, one of which, the Emperor, was levitating in the air as they were meditating, while the other, the Empress was prepared for a fight, more than ready to rip the heads of the Outlaws off. Stheno looked at the Emperor, then noticing the "0-4" branded onto their right shoulder, that being the one thing that they remembered from the Emperor all the way back when the Outlaws first went to fight the Lovers. "Emperor... So Famine's finally brought him out to play, huh?" The sun started rising where the Emperor was meditating, revealing what they looked like compared to a more traditional V, like the type of elemental that the Empress was. Unlike a normal V, which appeared semi transparent, the Emperor appeared almost identical to how Valoroso, the first V, was always described as, being a literal stick figure shaped light, donning a samurai helmet that shone as brightly as the Emperor.

The Empress simply looked at the Outlaws, glaring at them with a hatred that was stronger than even Lenathor's hatred for the team. None of the Outlaws knew exactly where this hatred stemmed from, but all five were ready to finish off the Empress and the Emperor, the final two elementals that they had to face. "This is it, we take these two out, we finish what we started when Stheno first killed Affogata. Zealon, I don't know if you can see this, but we're almost done. I'll finish this, for your sake." Medusa said, taking out her daggers and preparing to fight the Empress. Stheno took out one of her electric swords as her snakes hissed at the Empress, while Cyclonio charged himself up, ready for a fight. "Now would be a really good time to overcharge, Ian!" Cyclonio thought to himself, wanting Hydranian to enter his Overcharged state and show the Empress his true power. However, Hydranian was unable to overcharge, whether or not it was because he was unable to control the transformation or not, currently unknown to the group.

The Empress let out a cry, then kicking Medusa in the face. Stheno cut at the Empress' legs, seeing them as vulnerable, only to be blasted in the face by a high pressure air blast. Hydranian knocked the Empress into the air, so Terrano could punch her into the ground, only for the Empress to grab Terrano and throw him at Cyclonio, sending the two away from the fight. Cyclonio fired an energy blast at the Empress, aiming to at least damage her, only for her to retaliate by hardening the water vapour around her and cause the blast to reflect onto the others, causing them to have to dodge and find a new way to attack the Empress. Hydranian stomped the ground, causing an ice pillar to hit the Empress into the air. However, this was then countered by countless Scorplings swarming Hydranian, biting at his arms, legs, torso and head. Stheno delivered a shock to Hydranian's body that killed the Scorplings, only for herself to be the victim of an Empress clone. Cyclonio flew towards the Empress, aiming to lob her head clean off. However, the Empress summoned a reflection of a Charrog to punch Cyclonio in the face, stopping him dead in his tracks as the Empress threw him into the ground.

Medusa and Stheno attempted to double attack the Empress, Stheno distracting the Empress as Medusa threw explosive daggers from behind. However, the Empress grabbed Stheno, using her as a meatshield for the explosions. Terrano lowered the pillar then raised it, sending the Empress flying into the air once again. The Empress fought back by summoning an Infernos dragon to attack the Outlaws, forcing Cyclonio, Hydranian and Terrano to fight on the defensive, shielding Stheno and Medusa from the dragon. This, however, proved to be a dupe by the Empress, as she ended up acting in unison with the dragon, kicking an Outlaw into the dragon's direction, as the dragon flung them back to the Empress. The Empress then summoned a sword of pure light, using it to attack the Outlaws. Stheno eventually deflected the sword's strikes, aiming to protect as many of her friends as possible. Stheno pushed the others out of the way, intending to fight the Empress on her own. "Alright, Empress, let's see what you got!" Stheno said as the Empress stabbed her sword into the ground, splitting the area Stheno was standing on in half.

Stheno activated her jet boots, flying towards the Empress with the sword, both blades clashing in a bright spark of light. This then happened again, and again, and again, and again, each bright light getting brighter and brighter the longer they fought. It reached a point where their swords clashing could be seen even from space. Stheno's snakes fired tasers at the Empress, causing the Empress to recoil in shock, only to recover almost immediately after and grab the tasers, flinging Stheno towards her, aiming to impale the cyborg gorgon. However, a large amount of explosives hit the Empress' back, as a result of Medusa throwing several daggers into the Empress' back, causing it to begin to bleed. Medusa, upon seeing this, knew that the Empress was able to be harmed. "That's it! We can take her out, we just need to hit her hard enough!" Medusa thought to herself, then seeing Cyclonio talking to Hydranian as Terrano prepared to rejoin the fight.

"Ian, you think you can overcharge yourself again?"

"Overcharge?"

"That thing you did against Lenathor!"

"That? I can try, but I can't guarantee anything, cover for me!" Hydranian said as he prepared to enter his Overcharged state once more, this time he was possible able to have more control over the transformation and therefore get better attacks in. Hydranian moved into a horse stance, focusing his breathing on one thing and one thing only: Defeating the Empress. Meanwhile, Cyclonio provided as much distraction from Hydranian as possible, aiming to keep the Empress away from him at all costs. "Cy! What's Ian doing?!" Stheno shouted, deflecting another strike from the Empress' sword.

"Ian's gonna try and overcharge himself again! GIve him cover!"

"With what?!"

"ANYTHING!" Cyclonio said as Terrano switched his arms into Chompler arms and flung the Empress away from Hydranian. Meanwhile, the rubble that was around Hydranian began to rise, the ground around him beginning to vibrate at the same time. Hydranian clenched his fists as hard as he could, attempting to keep his focus under control. The Empress, seeing this, attempted to throw her sword at Hydranian's head, only for Medusa to throw a dagger towards the sword, causing it to fly away from Hydranian's general direction and allow him to continue charging up his power. The Empress flew towards Hydranian as fast as she could, only to notice that Cyclonio had appeared in front of her through a bolt of lightning, punching her in the face and keeping her further away from Hydranian. Medusa threw as many daggers at the Empress as she could, throwing enough that it moved the Empress further away. Stheno would then follow through by using her snakes to fire tasers at the Empress again, however, this time she had the tasers latch on like grappling hooks, and fling the Empress away.

Hydranian's eyes, while covered up by his eyelids, began to glow once more, his aura starting to return. Unable to contain the stress the transformation put on his body, Hydranian let out his pain in one powerful cry, creating another blizzard, causing the Emperor to open up his eyes to what was happening, even if only for a minute. Hydranian flew towards the others, who simply smiled at him. "Where is she?" Hydranian asked, wanting the location of the Empress, only for Cyclonio to point to a clearly infuriated Empress, flying towards Hydranian at high speeds. "We'll provide you backup! Just give us the signal!" Medusa said, infusing the explosive daggers with her venom and getting into position. "No way you're having all the fun! I'm getting a slice of this too!" Cyclonio said, charging his energy reserves up and moving into position alongside Hydranian. Stheno and Terrano readied themselves, looking at the Empress.

"They think because he's Overcharged himself this changes anything? This changes NOTHING!" The Empress thought to herself, delivering a hammerfist to Cyclonio's skull, sending him flying into the ground, only for him to catch himself and fire an energy beam at Hydranian. Using this as an opportunity, Hydranian moved behind the Empress, moving so fast it seemed as if he teleported, and used her as a meat shield, causing her to face the full brunt of the energy beam. Hydranian then threw her into the air, summoning several ice shards to pierce her skin, then using the water vapour around the Empress to deprive her of any air. However, the Empress fought back by melting the ice around her, using it as a weapon against Hydranian. Medusa threw daggers at the Empress in an attempt to steer her away from Hydranian, while Terrano boosted Stheno into the air, impaling the Empress with her sword and sending as many amps of electricity into the Empress as she could, exposing the Empress' skeleton.

Hydranian then flew into the Empress, delivering a punch to her face, sending her flying away from the ruins of the mountain. The Empress then teleported back, kicking Hydranian into the air, only for Cyclonio to grab the Empress and throw her into the ground, providing Hydranian enough time to recover from the kick and deliver a series of punches to the Empress. In retaliation, the Empress started to fight as well, mimicing what Lenathor had done. However, upon noticing that she was getting frostbite from the punches, the Empress increased the temperature around her, much like the Devil was capable of doing before being absorbed by Euryale. This rendered Hydranian's cold aura useless, but still allowed his powers to continue. Hydranian then punched the Empress away from him, using the time to power up further. Cyclonio bought Hydranian more time by flying into the sky and using the thunderclouds around him to hit the Empress with several lightning bolts, causing her to become disorientated as a result of the electricity going through her.

Hydranian's aura only grew stronger, but was then disrupted by the Empress delivering a hammer kick to his gut, throwing him off course and weakening his aura. "Remember what's at stake, Hydranian. You can't let them win now! Not when you're so close to finishing this once and for all!" Hydranian thought to himself, then regaining his aura, now even stronger than when he charged up. Hydranian flew towards the Empress, purposefully flying around her and kicking her in the back, towards Cyclonio, who pinned the Empress to the ground and allowed Terrano to make the ground swallow the Empress, attempting to crush her. Medusa threw several daggers into the ground as a precaution in case the Empress were to break out of the ground. Once Terrano knew for sure the Empress was underground, he switched to his Chompler form and burrowed underneath, attempting to impale the Empress several times using his tendrils. However, the Empress was nowhere to be seen, confusing Terrano. A large column of fire then appeared from where he dug, forcing him to dig back up to the surface, away from the daggers.

The Empress looked at Terrano, who had just burrowed out of the ground. Preparing to kill the Chompler, she summoned another sword, throwing it at him. However, Hydranian grabbed the sword, using it as his own, and impaling the Empress through her right leg, rendering it useless. "It's over, Empress!" Cyclonio shouted, summoning a shuriken made of pure energy to cut down the Empress with. In reponse, she summoned another sword, causing the one that Hydranian was wielding to vanish as she deflected the shuriken away from her head. The Empress then threw the sword at Cyclonio, hitting him in the left shoulder. "Cy!" Stheno said, flying over to make sure that he wasn't hurt. "I'm fine, let's just get this over with!" Cyclonio said, clinging onto his wound. However, it was then that he noticed that the Empress' wounds, or at least the ones which had been frostbitten, were slowly starting to return to their own colour.

"S**t! Ian, keep hitting her! The frostbite's starting to wear off!" Cyclonio shouted to Hydranian, causing Terrano to attempt to trap the Empress' hands in two large pillars so that Hydranian could easily destroy her arms. Hydranian began beating the Empress into a pulp, aiming specifically for the joints which connected her upper and lower arms, as well as her elbows. The Empress attempted to break free, only for Medusa to fire several explosive bullets into her elbows as well, causing her to begin feeling her arms slowly be ripped out of their sockets. Hydranian believed that he heard someone in his mind pleading for him to stop attacking the Empress. "Test subject Two... High Priestess... Mind control..." Hydranian thought to himself, remembering what he had read from the Elementalian files before they had been destroyed by Lenathor. As a result of this, Hydranian knew exactly what the Empress was, and not to stop. Eventually, with two well-placed shots, and several attacks from Hydranian, both of the Empress' lower arms were severed, leaving her unable to use her elemental abilities.

Cyclonio flew back down to the others, then seeing the stumps that the Empress was left with. "Won't they just regenerate?" Medusa asked, looking at the frozen remains of the Empress' lower arms. "They will, but it'll end up taking too long for the Empress to properly regenerate her arms. They're useless as long as we make sure she has more and more wounds to heal." Cyclonio said, then hitting the Empress in the face with an energy shuriken, creating a massive gash across the left side of her face. "It's over. She can't harm us anymore. The least we could do is mercy kill her." Cyclonio said, then looking at the others, each of them nodding in turn. Cyclonio summoned a dagger, then pushed it into the Empress' spinal cord, killing her harmlessly, much like the way Hydranian had finished off the Moon.

The five then turned to the still-meditating Emperor, who had been quietly observing the fight this whole time, through the eyes of the Empress. "You have done well, Outlaws." The Emperor said to the Outlaws, then exiting their meditation position. "Both the Magician and Empress were both a variant of V, a descendant of my own being. However, these descendants hold but a mere fraction of my true power. So, now I ponder: If it took you the power of an Overcharged Elemental to defeat a true V, what will it take for you to defeat me, the original, true V?" The Emperor then said, revealing himself as Valoroso, the very V that had been responsible for Elementalia's liberation in the first place. Each of the Elemental Outlaws froze in horror, realising that they were up against the strongest elemental ever made, or, at least the combination of the four strongest elementals. "Alright, cut the crap! Valoroso's been dead for a while now!" Cyclonio said, angry at what he believed was a normal V posing as the original V. "You may believe that I am not the real Valoroso, but must I remind you that you once believed your Hanged Man to be deceased as well?" The Emperor said in response, pointing out that Terrano, the Hanged Man, was also a once-deceased elemental.

"Fine, then. You wish to not believe my claims of being the Original V? Very well, I suppose that I shall have to show you my true power. Witness Elementalia's might!" The Emperor said, then getting into a horse stance, beginning to charge up their power. This was so powerful, large tremors were felt from even the farthest reaches of Elementalia, the oceans around Elementalia began slowly becoming more and more unstable, the waves that came from this occurence becoming larger and larger, storm clouds then began brewing over the mountain the six were on, the lightning within them seemingly sensing the massive amount of power being built up in one area, until finally, the Emperor let out one, large cry, causing a bright beam of light to envelop him and the Outlaws, forcing Hydranian out of his Overcharged state. "I- I can't fight that! He's overcharged himself!" Hydranian said, sweating as a result of seeing the now Overcharged Emperor. The Emperor's feet touched the ground as he looked at the Outlaws. "I will allow you to have all the time you need to prepare for your fight. For this will be your last." The Emperor then said, returning to his meditating position.

"We can't beat an overcharged V! Who does he think we are?!" Stheno said, panicking from seeing the Emperor finally reveal his once-concealed power. Medusa, however, slowly began piecing together exactly as to why the Emperor had refrained fighting them until now. "No... He's been using the other elementals we've fought to weaken us. That's why he didn't bother helping the Empress when she was being beaten up!" The others looked at Medusa, realising that she was correct. Up until this point, the Emperor could have easily interfered in any of the fights that the other elementals had ended up in, but chose not to, in order to prepare himself for when his time would come. "Okay, we figured out why he hasn't fought us yet, WE'RE STILL F**KED!" Cyclonio said in both panic and anger. "Hang on, I've got an idea. Do we remember when we fought the Magician when the Hermit was wandering Inamorta?" Terrano said, recalling how they had defeated the Magician when they were hunting down the Hermit. "This is a bit of a stretch, but... What if we became a V ourselves? We'll have the advantage of Medusa's snakes, and some kind of Overcharge ability." Terrano then said, wondering if he, Hydranian, Cyclonio and Medusa forming a V would be able to match the Emperor's power. "That... could actually work. We'll have the element advantage as well, we've got Water, Earth, Fire, Air, Void, Ice AND Energy. If we know what we're doing, we should be fine. Alright, you got me in, Terrano." Medusa said, getting ready. Hydranian simply said nothing, only going to where Medusa was to get ready as well.

"Cy? Are you in?" Terrano said, noticing that Cyclonio was uneasy over everything that had just happened. Cyclonio thought it over in his head over and over again, thinking of all of the possible outcomes in the fight. "This is going to be difficult, even with this fusion, Terrano. If we want to beat the Emperor, we NEED to be in perfect sync at all times." Cyclonio said, warning Terrano of the fight before them. "We've only got one shot, if we take ourselves out killing this maniac, so be it. Let's finish this, bud." Cyclonio moved where Hydranian and Medusa were, then noticing Terrano get into position. The four adopted a meditative stance, the area around the four slowly beginning to be drowned out of their minds. Then, their bodies all slowly moved towards one another, slowly merging, until finally, a bright beam of light enveloped where the four had once been, once the light cleared, however, all that was left in the place of the four was a V, with noticeable snakes for hair. The V looked at the Emperor, who had finally exited their meditation after witnessing the V's creation, ready for a fight. "Shall we begin, Outlaws?" The Emperor said, looking at the V. The V simply smiled at the Emperor, then uttering a single word in response. "Yeah."

Stheno simply looked on, seeing her friends, having formed into the most powerful form of Elemental, standing off against the very Elemental which had been responsible for their transformation even being a concept to begin with. "Good luck, guys... I'll try and help where I can." Stheno thought to herself, readying her electrical sword. The Emperor flew into the sky, the Outlaws' V following after. The Emperor threw a large mass of molten magma at the V, it then blocking the attack with a well placed ice bolt in response, allowing it to punch the Emperor in the face. Stheno, realising what was happening, prepared for liftoff, so as to assist the V in the fight against the Emperor. The two Vs clashed, again and again, slowly reaching the edge of the atmosphere. The Emperor fired a laser beam at the V, forcing the V to have to fire back with another laser. While the Emperor's beam was comprised of Overcharged variants of all four main elements, it was the elements of Ice, Energy and Void that allowed the Outlaws' V to counter the Overcharged V's attack. Stheno got closer and closer to the fight, being able to breathe in space as a result of her cybernetics.

The three then exited Terra's atmosphere, noticing that the area around them was now space. Stheno, however, looked around and noticed the other planets that the Emperor and V were fighting around. First was the small planet of Mercurio, closest to Terra's home star, Sol. This was of no use for a fight, as the rock would have been obliterated by the fight. However, the Outlaws' V instead flung the Emperor towards the second planet in Terra's system, Venere, which, when compared with Terra, was seen as the Orderian's view of what Hell was, a hot, rocky planet, filled with craters which had been made over the planet's lifetime, along with thick clouds that rained hot acid across the planet, which would harm both sides that were fighting. Stheno, however, waited outside the planet, unsure of what was going on. That was, until she saw the Emperor grab the V and fly it directly into the third planet of the system, Marte. A once beautiful planet, filled with all different kinds of life and culture, now a far cry of its former self, monuments built by the planet's people still stood, the last pieces of evidence that life had once lived on this planet.

The Emperor threw the Outlaws' V into the air, aiming to impale them in the abdomen, only for the V to grab onto one of the ruined buildings in Marte and use it to move away from the Emperor. The V fired a laser at the Emperor, causing it to be sent flying through several buildings, as well as a bridge. The Emperor, annoyed, broke off a large chunk of a tower, and threw it at the V, sending it towards Marte's ocean, which was once a deep blue colour, but had been converted to a dirty brown colour, bits and pieces of various different objects floating around in the ocean. "Wait a minute... Let's try something!" Cyclonio said to the others, then creating a trap of sorts with these materials. The Emperor flew towards the V, only to be ensnared by several different traps in the ocean, aiming to drown the Emperor in Marte's oceans. "These oceans are filled with different forms of earth, Outlaws! And must I remind you what the ocean IS?" The Emperor spoke to the V telepathically, then completely destroying the traps, as well as turning all of Marte's oceans to his side.

The Emperor threw Marte's ocean towards the V at full force, sending it towards the other side of Marte, where the V would find a large statue to hit the Emperor with, sending them flying out of Marte's atmosphere, and into the space debris which has been accumulating around Marte ever since its extinction of life. The Emperor kicked several pieces of space debris towards the V, creating an artificial meteor shower to finish the V off. However, the Emperor then noticed that Marte's moon had apparently stopped orbiting around the planet, and was now "staring" at the Emperor. The Emperor, believing that something was wrong, prepared for what was to happen next. The moon started moving towards the Emperor, forcing the Emperor to attempt to move out of the way. However, Stheno then appeared, impaling one of her swords through the Emperor's arm and the surface of Marte's singular moon. "You ain't going ANYWHERE, bud!" Stheno said, then realising that the Emperor had grabbed one of her feet. "Then you shall perish too!" The Emperor said, believing that this was his end.

Stheno, however, laughed at the Emperor, confusing him. "I ain't going ANYWHERE, bud!" Stheno said, then pressing a button on her foot, disconnecting it from her body as she flew away from Marte's moon. The Emperor, realising that they were stuck, formed a shield to protect themselves with as the moon crashed into Marte, creating a massive explosion that was visible even in the daylight. The V flew away from the destruction, looking at the damage that they had done to Marte. "This... isn't gonna end up fixing itself anytime soon..." Medusa said to the others, noticing how the moon's destruction was so powerful, it had went down right to Marte's core. "We need to be ready, who knows if he ended up surviving that..." Hydranian then said in response, looking at the rings starting to form around Marte. However, the V then noticed the Emperor appearing from the destruction, part of his arm and leg missing. The Emperor then laughed at the Outlaws, holding up Stheno's electrified sword, then allowing it to crumble into nothing.

"You honestly believe that would be enough to stop me? I am above even the planets! I am a GOD! YOU ARE NOTHING!!!" The Emperor shouted, grabbing the V and flying them into Giove, the largest planet of Terra's system. It was here where a large storm was brewing, electrocuting both sides. However, the V tapped into Cyclonio's energy elemental side, using the lightning bolts to further charge the V's power. The Emperor attempted to attack the V while this was happening, but was only stopped by the V flinging them out of Giove and towards Saturno, where the V would throw several asteroids at the Emperor, as well as throwing some of the many moons Saturno had at the Emperor's location. The Emperor, however, opted to throw the V towards Ouranos, where he believed that the V would end up freezing to death. However, the V simply tapped into Hydranian's powers and used the cold environment around it to trap the Emperor in ice and throw it towards Ouranos' rings, sending it flying away from the planet.

The Emperor then summoned Nettuno's largest moon, Tritone, to be thrown at Ouranos' surface, and towards the V. "THIS ENDS HERE!" The Emperor shouted, throwing the moon at a high speed towards the V. The V then tapped into the power of the Hanged Man, and punched Tritone as hard as it could, cracking the moon in half. The V flew towards the Emperor, using the Magician's abilities to keep it in place to deliver an incredibly powerful blow to the Emperor's temple, sending them flying into Sol. The V let out a sigh, looking at the star. However, it still appeared as if something was wrong. "He's still alive, I can feel it." Terrano said, looking at the star. "Well what are we waiting for?! Let's finish this!" Cyclonio then said as the V flew into Sol to finish off the Emperor. The Emperor was flying out of Sol, until the V tackled it back into Sol's core, where both elementals were being destroyed by Sol's intense heat. "You fools! If you keep me in here, you'll get yourself killed, too!" The Emperor said to the V, but, this was in vain, as neither side could now hear one another as a result of Sol's intense activity.

Stheno saw the two Vs enter Sol, immediately knowing what to do. "I NEED to get in there and help them, even if I end up dying as a result. If it means that the others are gonna be able to live, so be it." Stheno flew right into Sol after the two, aiming to get the Outlaws out of there once the Emperor was finished off. The two Vs clashed over and over again, both sides noticing that they were both being destroyed as a result of Sol's heat. In an attempt to finish off the fight quickly, the Emperor attempted to throw the V into Sol's core. However, the V simply grabbed onto the Emperor. "It's because of you that our people live in fear of their lives..." Hydranian thought to himself as he delivered a knee to the Emperor's gut.

"I don't give a S**T if you're the one that freed us all..." Cyclonio then thought, using the V's left arm to impale the Emperor through the upper abdomen, causing the Emperor to cough up blood, being evaporated as quickly as it came out.

"You're a god damn PSYCHO, that's what you are..." Terrano thought, delivering a two-handed hammerfist to the Emperor's neck, sending them flying towards Sol's core.

However, the V wanted to ensure that the Emperor was finished once and for all, grabbing the Emperor by the neck, and staring at it one final time. "With your death... Elementalia will once again return to peace!" Medusa thought to herself as the V bit into the Emperor's neck, ripping out the Emperor's jugular and carotid, ensuring that he was finished off once and for all. It was then that Stheno grabbed the V, flying them out of Sol, so as to make sure that they did not perish in Sol along with the Emperor. Stheno flew back to Terra, collapsing on the ground as she saw the V break apart back into Medusa, Hydranian, Terrano and Cyclonio. Seeing that her friends, as well as her sister, were okay, Stheno passed out. The Emperor, however, was not as lucky. They attempted to grab onto the V one final time, to ensure that their efforts were not in vain, but missed as a result of Stheno's interference, something he did not predict. The Emperor slowly burnt up in Sol's core, more and more of his body dissolving until finally, the Emperor was no more.

Cyclonio woke up to see his friends, all passed out, but alive. He quickly realised what had happened that resulted in the five of them being passed out in the remains of the base. Cyclonio quickly went over to where Judgement's lifeless body was, to ensure that he was still in sleep mode as a result of the cryogenic fluid being pumped through him. Cy then breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Judgement's status still flashing as "SLEEP". Terrano then woke up, seeing Cyclonio checking on Judgement. Confused, Terrano approached Cyclonio, only to end up being hugged by Cyclonio. "We did it, Terrano... We finally did it... It's all over..." Cyclonio said in a calm tone, telling Terrano that the Emperor had been defeated, they had stopped Famine's attack on Elementalia, and to an extent, all of Terra. Terrano, upon realising this, started laughing, then bursting into tears out of joy, also hugging Cyclonio.

Hydranian was next to wake up, seeing the two crying in joy over their journey having finally reached its end. Hydranian let out a sigh of relief, seeing that his goals had finally been accomplished. "Crystallo... Figlio... I did it..." Hydranian thought to himself, telling his son that he kept his promise of looking after his friends, and had succeeded in ensuring a safe future for his child. Medusa then woke up, only to be hugged by Hydranian. Confused, Medusa let out a simple: "Huh?"

"Thank you." Hydranian said, smiling to Medusa. "You kept your promise to me, Medusa. You didn't just stop harming innocent people, you protected them as well."

"I-" Medusa said, then looking down, smiling. "Thanks, Ian. It... means a lot to me. It's a shame that Zealon couldn't have been here to see us get here, though."

"He'd be proud of you, Medusa. He'd be proud of all of us."

"Well, we'd better get around to fixing this place then, huh?" Medusa said, looking at everyone.

"No..." Stheno said, confusing everyone.

"No... What?" Cyclonio said, concerned as to why Stheno had responded in the way that she did.

"Look..." Stheno said, then pointing to a single thing, which sent chills down the spines of all five Outlaws.

Elementalia was completely destroyed, their journey was not over. At least, not yet.

Final Chapter: The World of The Star

"What the hell do you mean Elementalia's destroyed?! The last elemental there was Lenathor! And Ian took care of him easy!" Cyclonio said to Stheno as he was repairing the ship's broken wing. Stheno, not breaking eye contact with Elementalia's ruins, responded by saying: "I- I don't know! Whatever it was must've gotten to Elementalia while we were in space!"

"Well we'd better hurry up! Whatever's there, we need to stop it, RIGHT NOW-" Cyclonio said as a mysterious blur punched him in the head, sending him flying into the ground.

"CY-" Stheno said, realising what had happened, only to be punched into the air by the very same blur. In response, Medusa, Hydranian and Terrano prepared themselves for a fight, only for Medusa's entire body to cramp up in pain, causing her to fall to the ground, clinging to her abdomen. "Sh-S**t! Terrano, keep your guard up! We don't know what the hell this thing-" Hydranian said, only to be flung and dragged across the ground in the blink of an eye, leaving Terrano as the only one still unharmed from the final elemental. "We DID kill the Emperor, right?! This isn't something I'm dreaming up, right? Come on guys, get up! We NEED to finish this-" Terrano thought to himself, only to punched through the abdomen, going straight through his body, sending him flying into the base of the mountain that the Outlaws used to call a home.

Medusa got back up to her feet, seeing that all of her friends were beaten to various bloodied pulps. Cyclonio lifted his head out of the ground, looking in horror at the sight before him. Elementalia, destroyed. His friends, defeated without a fight. Then, Cyclonio witnessed the Withered Conifer explode in front of his very eyes, much like the destruction of the Dead Oak at the hands of the Magician. Cyclonio would have cried out in pain, but when he did, nothing came out, he tried once more, then realising that no matter how hard he tried to scream, he had already been defeated. His friends were gone, his home was destroyed, and now his second ship, in pieces, much like his first one. Medusa looked on in horror at what was going on, realising that whatever was causing this destruction, it was nothing like what the Outlaws had fought up to this point. However, just as she realised this, she was once again, punched to the ground, through a hard uppercut, this time.

"There's no way we're surviving these hits! They're fighting us like we're children!" Cyclonio then thought, realising that whatever had just beaten his friends to an inch of their lives, was clearly pulling its punches just to ensure that they suffered the most amount of pain possible. "This sadistic thing... No... maniac... No simple animal would do this... This... thing... This thing's a MONSTER."

"THE EMPEROR WAS FOOLISH TO BELIEVE THAT HE COULD DEFEAT A V SUPERIOR TO HIS OWN BUILD." A voice said to all of the Outlaws, puzzling them. "What the hell?! Now the thing's in our heads?!" Cyclonio thought, then seeing a large Elementalian building start to fall onto him. In a panic, Cyclonio flew out of the way, only to be punched back into the building from this mysterious force, being damaged greatly from the attack. His face,left arm and most of his lower torso now bloodied, Cyclonio, now breathing incredibly heavy from the damage done to his body, took the time to look around and see what else this mysterious elemental was doing. In doing this, Cyclonio also attempted to deduct exactly what type of elemental this was.

He first looked at Terrano, having been impaled through the abdomen, bleeding out, but being able to survive. However, to Cyclonio, the very sight of seeing his best friend in this condition also made it feel as if he was attacked in the same way. The way Terrano was attacked was also eerily similar to how the Magician had attempted to kill Medusa, only for Zealon to take the hit and die in her place. Cyclonio grabbed onto his arm harder, feeling it sting as a result of his wounds. Cyclonio then looked at Hydranian, who had been stomped on several times. Not enough to kill him, he was still alive, but it was enough to at least keep him within an inch of his life. Cyclonio tried pulling Hydranian away from the battlefield, to ensure that he could recover from his wounds in a safe area. However, the mysterious force pulled both of them back towards the area where the rest of the Outlaws were, then taunting Cyclonio. "HE SAID THAT HE LOVED HER, THAT HE WOULD GIVE HIS LIFE UP FOR HER IF IT MEANT THAT SHE COULD LIVE OUT HER LIFE TO ITS FULLEST. LOOK WHERE THAT GOT HIM."

"Said that he loved her... But the Emperor didn't even care about the Empress' death- Wait a minute... YOU... YOU ABSOLUTE C**T!" Cyclonio thought to himself, believing that the voice was initally talking about the Emperor's love for the Empress, but upon realising that this was not the case, Cyclonio immediately realised that the voice was taunting Cyclonio with Zealon's death. Angered, Cyclonio began throwing energy shurikens all around him, attempting to hit the enemy, even once. However, the shurikens turned on him, forcing him to have to move around and dodge as many shurikens as possible. However, he was still struck in the left knee, shoulder and right thigh from three shurikens, bringing him down to the ground again.

"What... Did... Did we just lose? But we haven't even started fighting yet!" Terrano thought to himself as he saw the hole in his abdomen slowly pull itself back together. He looked to see Cyclonio fighting against nothing, yet somehow still being hurt by whatever this force was, then to Hydranian, who had fully recovered from his wounds, but had no idea as to what he was supposed to do to turn the fight in their favour. "Whatever this thing is, it's by far the fastest thing in Terra. But... No normal creature could survive speeds like that!" Hydranian thought to himself, then noticing a mysterious figure "blip" in and out of existence to attack Cyclonio. "Wait... That thing... That's gotta be what's attacking us. Is it a Shadowrath? No, no Shadowrath would cause this much destruction... But, then what is it?" Hydranian thought to himself, looking for the figure when it blipped back into existence to attack Cyclonio again. However, the figure would then reappear when Terrano attempted to run towards Cyclonio to protect him, appearing to punch Terrano away from Cyclonio and Hydranian.

It was then when Hydranian got a proper glimpse as to exactly what this figure was, as well as discovering that there were in fact two figures responsible for the swift defeat for the Outlaws. One of which was a skinny elemental, not as skinny as someone like the Fool, but still rather skinny compared to the other elementals that the Outlaws had fought. This elemental wore a black trench coat over itself, most likely to concel itself better in the night as well as hide what number they were in the arcana. However, one particular thing stood out to Hydranian regarding this particular elemental. Their appearance was nothing like that of the Emperor, or a V. In fact, they appeared similar to a stickman-shaped light, however, it seemed as if the black trench coat was supposed to conceal this part of itself. The other Elemental, however, was still unknown to Hydranian, as he was mostly focused on the first Elemental that he had seen appear. "So... There's two of them... What haven't we seen yet?" Hydranian then thought, thinking over his and his friend's entire journey up until this point. Every single elemental they had faced off against, every single disaster they had averted. The countless lives that were at stake through the entire journey and despite this, not a single soul had been lost as a result of their hand.

Then, it finally hit Hydranian. He had finally figured out exactly who these two elementals were. They weren't Death or the Fool, Death had presumably been fused into the Hermit, and the Fool was seen alongside Avalos. First of the two that he was able to deduct was the elemental in the black trench coat, always standing behind whatever elemental was responsible for hurting the others. "Test Subject Seventeen, The Star..." Hydranian thought to himself, then taking a look at the other elemental, appearing similar to a jet-black Cycloid. However, this Cycloid wore a special helmet, as well as various pieces of heavy armour all over its body. On its right shoulder, however, the number "2-1" was clearly visible. "And the Final Test Subject... The World..." Hydranian then thought, looking at The World's enigmatic appearance compared to that of the Star, whose appearance was far more extravagant than his Cycloid friend. "Wait- No, that's not a Cycloid..." Terrano thought to himself, looking at The World. "That thing's too heavily armoured to be any old Cycloid! Wait a minute... That's the World! And the Star... Oh lord... We're in for a treat." Terrano looked at both elementals, who were beating Stheno into a bloody pulp.

Stheno, finally seeing both the Star and World's real forms, took the opportunity to have one of her snakes bite into the Star's right leg. While this did no damage to the elemental, as the snake was destroyed immediately after, this allowed Stheno to track the movement of the Star, and hopefully the movement of the World as well. The Star and World vanished from the view of the Outlaws, to allow for the two to communicate. "They've seen us. What are we going to do about that?" The Star asked the World, hearing only the distant sounds of wind and metal slowly moving against one another. "While the gorgon may prove to be a threat, she can't hurt us forever. We will be able to take her down, no matter how long it takes." The Star said in response, being greeted with the same sounds of the wind blowing and metal being slowly moved against another piece of metal. "Very well, let us see how this battle unfolds."

The Star and the World reappeared, this time fully appearing in front of all of the Outlaws. The World simply glared at the group, preparing to rip them into a billion pieces, while the Star simply nodded to the Outlaws. "On behalf of all of the Elementals which have fallen before us, I congratulate you, Outlaws. You have managed to do what not even Elementalia's royal guard could do." The Star said, then looking to Stheno as the World looked over to Medusa, noticeably calming its glare to that of a simple stare. "I will admit, you lot could have done your job the slightest bit better, I mean, you left Death to fuse with the Hermit and in turn cause all this chaos to Elementalia. Better yet, you've decided to keep Judgement alive. When he first joined the experiment, he was easily the youngest of the group. And yet here you are, leaving him to age until everyone he knows is long gone. Sometimes, I wonder. Who are the real villains here?" The Star said, then looking at the faces of the Outlaws. "Hydranian Maremoto, former chief of a northern Water village, decides to join a band of criminals led by a maniac hellbent on bringing Elementalia to its knees, much like what we have done to Elementalia now. Quite ironic, I must say. Have you ever stopped to wonder why you made that choice to join Flamagane's forces? You may say it was with the best intentions, but deep down, we both know very well that deep down, you're still the ruthless killer you were when you were with Flamagane."

The Star then turned to both Terrano and Cyclonio. "Cyclonio Hurricusso AND The Hanged Man. So, you're the older brother of Judgement. Did you ever look back at your brother's lifeless body? Did you ever feel guilty for putting him through what happened in that lab? Did you ever even bother to tell him that you loved him before he turned into the monster he is now? You're the reason he's turned into that thing, Cyclonio. And now? Now you have to live with the reality that you've made." Cyclonio, irritated, prepared to behead the Star, only for a blip to appear in front of him and deliver a swift blow to his abdomen. "And you, Hanged Man? You aren't any better. You're the only one of the twelve Hanged Men that the laboratory made that chose to stay with the High Priestess. The others? Waiting in stasis for when the time comes for Famine to arrive on this planet once more. They're all far stronger than what you could ever be, Hanged Man. Or, do you prefer to be called Terrano?"

"I got one thing they don't have, Star. I have a free will."

"Is that so?"

The World and Medusa didn't break eye contact, both sides were just as conflicted as each other on looking at one another. "Why is it still looking at me? I thought it attacked Cy!" Medusa thought to herself, seeing into the World's helmet, and seeing nothing inside of it. The World, however, continued staring at Medusa, a deep and slow purring-like sound was heard emanating from the World. Medusa was clearly puzzled. However, gradually, Medusa began to feel an emotion she hadn't felt in a long time. It was a feeling of familiarity, as if this mysterious Elemental was someone that she knew, as if she had been visited from the grave by a familiar face. But who? Her parents? Euryale? Nyx? Zealon? Medusa cast aside this feeling of familiarity, instead focusing on what the Star was saying to the other Outlaws. The World, however, kept their gaze on Medusa, the noise still able to be heard by everyone in the area.

"Elementalia is no more, Outlaws. We have won." The Star said, then looking to the World and noticing that they were still staring at Medusa. "What? Why is The World so intent on keeping an eye on Medusa? She isn't even a threat!"

"Maybe Elementalia, the country is gone..." Cyclonio said, clinging to his side, then having his wounds be healed. "But... You know what, Star?" The Star raised an eyebrow, then noticing the ground around Cyclonio beginning to rise into the air. The Star, alarmed, threw a set of energy blades at Cyclonio, only for these to be deflected by an ice wall put up by Hydranian. "So long as its people still exist, Elementalia will NEVER perish!" Cyclonio said, then creating a massive wave of energy around him, sending everyone around him flying away from where he was. While everyone else was confused as to what was going on, Hydranian and the Star knew exactly what had happened to Cyclonio. While Hydranian looked on in anticipation, preparing to see what Cyclonio looked like in this state, the Star prepared himself, seeing this new ability as a challenge. When the wave disappated, it appeared as if Cyclonio was cloaked in massive amounts of pure energy, and was now armed with a sword, while his eyes shone a bright white, and he gave off an aura that supercharged anything around him to the point of catching on fire. Cyclonio had reached his Overcharged state.

On an impulse, the World attempted to claw at Cyclonio, only for him to teleport away from the World's attack, and attempt to deliver a hit to the Cycloid-looking figure. However, even with his new speed, Cyclonio wasn't fast enough to land a hit on the World. As a result, the two were stuck in a situation where neither could hit the other. However, this provided more than enough time for the Outlaws to attempt to discover exactly what the World's true power was. Medusa threw several explosive daggers at the World, only for a loud sound to be heard accompanying the World "blipping" in front of Medusa, repositioning the daggers in her direction, and returning to fighting Cyclonio. Cyclonio continued attacking the World as the Star began to fight the others. "This will be your end, Outlaws!" The Star shouted as several thousand daggers appeared in front of the Outlaws. Terrano shielded everyone in a large earth dome, only to see the Star completely shatter it and throw Terrano into the daggers.

"Where the hell's he getting the daggers from?!" Medusa said in confusion, looking at more and more daggers appear in front of her and the others.

"It's gotta be whatever weird ability the World's got! Whatever they can do, the Star's using it to his advantage!" Stheno said as she fired an eye laser at several of the daggers that were appearing. "Cover for me!" Hydranian shouted, attempting to enter his Overcharged state once more.

"But Ian! You're gonna wear yourself out! You might end up killing yourself trying-"

"JUST COVER FOR ME!" Hydranian shouted, charging up again. The Star attempted to snap Hydranian out of his trance, only for Stheno to attack the Star with her sword, both sides clashing. "Let him finish!"

"Never!" The Star shouted, throwing Stheno aside, only for Medusa to throw several explosive daggers in the direction of the Star. However, the Star ignored these attacks, throwing an energy disc at Medusa, stopping her volley of daggers. However, Terrano returned, submerging Hydranian underground in an attempt to keep the Star away from him. "Your fight's with us, Star!" Terrano said as he, Medusa and Stheno perpared for a fight. The Star smirked at the three, looking at how they were all prepared to give their all, if it meant that they could stall for Hydranian, if even for a minute. "Very well, I'll amuse you three. Five minutes, that's all that your friend has to charge up-" At that moment, Hydranian burst out of the ground in his Overcharged state, causing the Star's smirk to turn into a grin. "This just got interesting," The Star said as he noticed several bullets flying towards him. However, these weren't from Medusa, or Stheno.

The Star turned to see the Fool, wielding a small pistol, and nothing more. Confused, the Star laughed at the Fool. "Surely you must have a death wish!"

"Oh, trust me, Star. I might have been stuck with the name of the Fool, but I'm going to make sure you're taken down!" The Fool said as he shot several bullets in the direction of the World. "OUTLAWS! Pay attention to the bullets!" The Fool shouted, continuing to fire at the World. Alarmed, the Star tried to warn the World not to retaliate. But, it was too late. The World's view of Terra completely crumbled to pieces, the only things left being everyone around them frozen in place. The World moved the bullets in the direction of the Fool, then deciding to impale them through the abdomen, as Terra started to come back. The Fool was sent flying towards the redirected bullets, causing the Outlaws to look on in shock. "He- the bullets all turned around at the same time?!" Cyclonio thought to himself, replaying what had happened in his head. "The same time... There's no mistaking it... But... How?" Cyclonio then thought, replaying the scenario over and over again. Then, it finally hit him. "Time... These bastards can manipulate time!" Cyclonio thought in horror, realising exactly what they were up against.

In an attempt to signal to the other Outlaws what the World's true ability was, Cyclonio fired an overcharged energy blast at a flower, aging it at rapid speed and causing it to wilt. "The hell was that for?!" Terrano thought to himself, then noticing that instead of being outright vaporised, the flower instead aged rapidly, as if it had ran out of time. "Wait a minute... That's it!" Terrano then thought, shouting to the others: "The World's ability is to stop time!" Shocked, Medusa, Hydranian and Stheno looked at the World, seeing how Cyclonio was still fighting it, but was beginning to lose. "The Star's gotta have some way to access the area of stopped time! Find something on him!" Stheno shouted, then firing an eye laser at the Star.

"So, you figured out the secret of the World. No matter, it won't be any good to you when you're dead!" The Star shouted, firing a massive laser, far larger than that of a V's hyperbeam at the group. Hydranian grabbed Medusa and moved out of the way, while Stheno picked up Terrano and flew out of the way. Hydranian threw an ice sickle at the Star's left shoulder, aiming to dismember the Star's arm. The Star stopped the time around him, seeing the sickle in the air. Chuckling, the Star shattered the sickle, time resuming shortly after. "Whatever he's doing, it HAS to be on him!" Hydranian shouted, revealing that the sickle was only a diversion to try and get the Star to reveal how he was able to stop time. "Why- you!" The Star said, looking at the four.

"Now it's an equal playing field!" Medusa shouted, looking at the Star. However, an amber stickman then materialised next to her and the Outlaws. "What the-"

"No, NOW it's an equal playing field!" The stickman said, summoning a swarm of locusts to his aid. The Star flinched for a minute, realising exactly who this amber stickman was. "Y-you- Traitor!"

"Famine? What are you doing helping US?!"

"These two have gone too far for my liking! It's one thing to kill our enemies, but innocent people? That's where I draw the line, Star! You should know that!"

"Kronos is going to ENJOY ripping you to pieces once he finds out about this!"

Famine simply laughed at the Star when he said this, then looked back up at him. "How do you expect him to find out if there's nobody to tell him about this?" Famine grabbed the Star and threw them into the ground, providing the Outlaws an opportunity to attack the Star. Medusa threw several explosive daggers at the Star, while Stheno had all of her snakes fire lasers all over the Star's body. Hydranian and Terrano sent several boulders and ice bolts at the Star's body as Famine simply watched on, looking at the damage done to the Star. However, it was then when the Star had enough of the fight, and grabbed Famine, flinging him into another mountain. "Sh- S**T! He just took out Famine!" Stheno thought to herself, looking at the large cloud of dust from the mountain that Famine was thrown into. Cyclonio then threw the World out of the way, opting to help the others fight the Star. The World attempted to charge at the Outlaws, only for a large amber orb to surround it, causing it to try and claw its way out of the orb, to no avail. Famine then reappeared behind the World, containing them.

Medusa simply looked at Famine, confused as to why they were helping them. The Star, however, was instead furious that Famine would go far enough as to betray Kronos. "Without the World's abilities, the Star is but a simple V with all eight elements. You five know what to do by now." Famine said as he held the World in place. Cyclonio, still in his Overcharged state, looked at Hydranian, getting an idea. "You think if we combined the Cycloid would have our abilities multiplied by each other?" Cyclonio asked Hydranian, who simply nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for? Now or never!" Hydranian and Cyclonio fused with one another, creating an Overcharged Cycloid to help fight against the Star. "Y-you might have a Horseman on your side, but you'll still fail, and this world will fall with you!" The Star said, flinching for a minute as a result of seeing the Overcharged Cycloid. Terrano smiled at the Star, looking at how their once calm demeanor had been shattered. "Bring it, buddy."

The Star summoned an energy sword and lunged at Terrano, only for Stheno to jump in and delfect the blow, allowing Medusa to throw several daggers in the direction of the Star, each and every one exploding on contact. The Star created a massive wave of heat in order to throw off the Outlaws, only for the Cycloid to retaliate by reseting the temperature of the air around them. "So... You're support, huh? Let's see how they do WITHOUT it!" The Star thought to themselves, then going straight for the Cycloid's neck. The Star threw the Cycloid into the ground, only to be wrapped up by the Cycloid's tail and slamed into the ground several times. The Cycloid fired a beam of energy from its hands, then headbutting the Star. "You can't keep fighting forever, Star!" Medusa shouted to the Star, attempting to anger them to the point where they would end up wearing themselves out further. "Eventually you're gonna slip up and fail! Look what happened to all the others!"

"That's where you're wrong, Gorgon." The Star said, charging up a ball of energy aimed directly towards the Cycloid's head. "I'm not like the others." The Star flung the ball of energy at the Cycloid's head, only for it to be countered by Stheno firing several lasers at the ball, destroying it. "You want to take out one of us, you take out all of us!" Stheno shouted, giving the Star an idea.

"Take out all of you, you say? Very well then. It shall not be me who takes out all of you, it shall be the world who finishes the job."

"The world? What?" Medusa thought to herself, deciding to call out the Star on their questionable wording. "The hell you mean The World will finish the job? They're in captivity!"

"Not The World, THE World." The Star said as several Elementals, presumably under the control of the Star, were surrounding the Outlaws. In response to this, Terrano summoned an earthen axe and shield, ready to take out as many elementals that were needed to ensure victory. Stheno, while deterred by the elementals turning on them, was more than ready to return to her roots as a race bred purely for combat, if it meant that her friends and herself were given the opportunity to finish what they had started with the death of the Lovers. Medusa however, was horrified, believing that despite everything she had done to help the elementals, they still wished for her demise regardless. "Cy, we need you!" Terrano said to the Cycloid, seeing that it had noticeably gone into an inactive state.

"Ian, come on! Now or never!" Cyclonio said to Hydranian, attempting to convince him to assist the others in finishing off the Star. However, Hydranian was seemingly oblivious to Cyclonio's pleas, instead looking on in despair. "Th-these are innocent elementals... We can't just- throw their lives away like nothing!" Hydranian then said to Cyclonio in disgust, reminding him that; although these people were against them, at the end of the day, they were still much like either Cyclonio or himself. "Ian, are we just gonna have them swarm us and let the Star just win? We NEED to take them out if we want to take out either of them two!"

"Cy, we aren't criminals anymore!"

"This isn't something a criminal would do!"

In anger, Hydranian punched Cyclonio in the face, making him fall onto the floor of the Cycloid's mindspace. "This is something that Kronos would want us to do! We've been able to take on all of Famine's chosen up until this point, think about it!" Hydranian said, causing Cyclonio to also realise that Kronos was most likely testing the Outlaws, to see if they could be swayed to his side. "I- s**t, that actually makes a lot of sense." Putting his hand onto the side of his face that had now developed a bruise, Cyclonio looked at Hydranian, concerned. "We need to warn them." Cyclonio said as his and Hydranian's Cycloid broke into two. Seeing this, the Star raised an eyebrow.

"We can't attack them." Cyclonio said, causing Terrano to look at him in confusion.

"Cy, this is like old times! Us against the world!" Terrano said, then raising an eyebrow. "What's the go?"

"I'm all for attacking them, Cy. Dunno why you wanna stop this." Stheno said, glaring at the elementals before her.

"Because it's not us killing everyone which is going to make us win, it's what's going to make Kronos win."

"W-what kind of bulls**t analogy is that?"

"If we kill everyone, we'll end up finishing what the test subjects were meant to do. If we can take out only the Star and World, hopefully the others won't turn on us." Hydranian said, explaining that Kronos intended for the Elementalian Test Subjects to completely destroy Elementalia and its people.

"How the hell are we gonna do that? There's only five of us! And that's at least a few thousand elementals!"

At that moment, an Infernos, revealed to be The Sun, having survived their battle, appeared. With both of her hands, she was carrying Crystallo and an amber-red stickman. "You guys need help?" The Infernos asked Hydranian, who immediately recognised that they were carrying his son. Crystallo ran to Hydranian to give him a hug. "Dad!" Crystallo said, hugging Hydranian. Hydranian, happy to see his son again, hugged him back before looking at the others.

"Wait, Temperance?" Medusa said to the amber-red stickman, causing them to roll their eyes and throw Zealon's rocket boot to the Outlaws. Still irritated over his defeat, Temperance said: "Your friend dropped that, by the way."

"Why are you helping us, though?" Hydranian asked the Infernos and Temperance.

"Ask questions later, I think we have a Star to collapse, right?" Cyclonio said to the group, all of them nodding in response.

"We'll deal with the elementals, you guys just focus on dealing with the Star!" Crystallo said, summoning several ice weapons to deal with the elementals.

The Star simply laughed at this presentation, realising that all of the remaining subjects had united to finish both him and the World off. "So, you all turn against me-"

"Not just them, Star." A familiar voice said, revealing themselves to be Avalos, who had also appeared to assist the Outlaws. Confused, Cyclonio went to blurt out a question, only to be interrupted. "You're gonna need all the help you can get, Outlaws. I could care less if I die now, we either finish them now, or we lose everything."

"Well, this is a surprise. The last scientist shows himself as well? I'm honoured. It is a shame that you will all perish now, however. I suppose we finish this now then, shall we?"

"Alright, Star. Let's settle this!" Medusa said as she and the others prepared for a fight.

The Star swooped down and delivered an uppercut to Hydranian's gut, sending hin flying upwards. Cyclonio grabbed Terrano and flew towards the Star, aiming to stop them before they could deliver any more blows on Hydranian. The Star materialised in front of Hydranian, having readied a saw made of pure energy to cut him in half lengthwise. "Terrano! You ready?"

"Now or never!"

Cyclonio grabbed Terrano's foot and spun around at an incredibly fast speed, then throwing him towards the Star. Terrano summoned an earthen mallet and swung at the Star at full force, sending them far enough away from Hydranian to allow him to recover from the hit. The Star regained their ground from the hit and looked at the three, then seeing Medusa appear from behind and throw several explosive daggers in his direction. The Star attempted to dodge the daggers, only for a large gust of air to send them flying towards the daggers, each and everyone one hitting the Star. "Of course... right when I get the upper hand..." The Star thought to himself, glaring at the four Outlaws. "Well, I suppose now would be a good time to show them MY power." The Star then thought, concentrating, then letting out a massive burst of energy.

Time had stopped.

Not for as long as the Star was able to when the World was assisting them, but time had certainly come to a halt. The Star walked towards the group, his trench coat, which usually moved around in the wind, also having stopped. The Star then summoned several blades of energy, surrounding each and every one of the Outlaws with their own array of blades. Upon completing his attack, the Star chuckled, believing his work to be complete. The Star then walked away from the Outlaws, not bothering to turn around to see if any of them had attempted to retaliate against him. "So... Outlaws. You were the ones who took down the Emperor? I must admit, I am impressed. But, your luck ends here. If you cannot do anything against me or the World, how DO you expect to win?"

Time had returned to its normal state.

The blades impaled each and every one of the Outlaws, Medusa in the back, Stheno in the eye and arms, Cyclonio in the neck, Terrano had been impaled all over his body, and Hydranian had been impaled in the abdomen, barely missing his heart. "Ian!" Stheno said, having barely been harmed by the blades due to her cybernetic parts. However, when she reached over to help Hydranian, the circuitry in her arms ceased, causing her to have to wait around for them to repair themselves. Medusa fell down onto her hands and knees, crying out in pain from the feeling of the blades entering her back. Terrano tensed up, wincing at the feeling of the blades impaling him. Cyclonio's blades disappated almost immediately, causing him to cling onto his neck, which was now heavily bleeding. "Ok... focus, Cy... you can heal this... you can heal this!" Cyclonio thought to himself, attempting to focus his mind onto one thing and one thing alone: Healing his neck wound before he ended up dying from it.

Terrano, having noticed Cyclonio, looked at the Star in anger, who was simply walking away from the events transpiring before them. As if on instinct, Terrano slammed the ground as hard as he could, causing a massive earthquake around their area, causing everyone around the six to look in their direction. "What the hell..?" Temperance thought to themselves in horror, seeing the Hanged Man, clearly angered, staring down the Star.

"I suppose you've forgotten what the Hanged Man represents, haven't you, Star?" Terrano said as small pebbles around him began to levitate in the air. The Star tilted his head, then raised an eyebrow, saying in response: "What significance does bear on me, exactly?"

"The Hanged Man represents surrender, sacrifice, or being suspended in time. Must I remind you of what I had done to stop Lenathor? What all of us had done?"

"I will say once more, what significance does this bear on me?"

"You WILL surrender. If not, I will sacrifice myself to stop you, even if it means we are suspended in time forever." Terrano said, preparing himself for a fight as more and more pieces of the earth began to rip themselves out of the ground and raise themselves into the air. The Star finally broke out of his indifferent state, changing to that of a ready one. "So, you wish to finish me off for your friends? Very well then. Allow me to show you why you should have stayed dead, Schulze."

The Star flew towards Terrano at full speed, not noticing that Terrano's eyes had turned a bright green. Terrano moved past the Star's lunge, grabbing their foot and slamming them into the ground, creating a large crater. Terrano then stomped on the Star's head, then again, and again, and again, not bothering to see if the Star had been killed. The Star then fired a beam of energy at Terrano, sending him flying upwards. However, Terrano grabbed onto a floating piece of earth, standing on it. He then jumped down, punching the Star back into the ground, only to throw them into the air and sandwich them between to pieces of earth. Anger filled Terrano's eyes, he was fully intent on killing the Star, if it meant that all of Elementalia would finally be able to sleep in peace once again.

Cyclonio had fully healed his neck, gasping for air. However, once he had recovered from air loss, he immediately went to helping the others. First being Stheno, then Hydranian, then Medusa. "Everyone alright?!" Cyclonio said, worried.

"Me and sis are alright, but Ian's out cold, and it looks like Terrano's fighting the Star on his own." Stheno said as Medusa was tending to Hydranian's wounds. Cyclonio, having witnessed firsthand that the Star could also stop time, immediately went to assist Terrano, who was getting thrashed by the Star, to the point where he was nearly killed by the Star's attacks. However, he continued fighting, his sheer anger and willpower keeping him going. "It can't be a literal time stop... because then how can he form energy when all energy movement stops? Wait... that's it!" Cyclonio thought to himself while rushing to assist his best friend, his brother in arms, the one who would be with him to the end. The Star, however, was preparing to finish off Terrano, having grown bored of his attacks. "Enough of this tomfoolery!" The Star shouted, preparing to stop time once more. Or, at least, what was believed to be stopping time. Cyclonio, seeing this, prepared his counter attack.

Time had stopped.

Terrano had come to an absolute stop, his anger clearly being seen, even in this state. "You put up a good fight, Hanged Man. It's just a shame that this is where it ends-" Cyclonio flew in and delivered a supersonic punch to the Star, sending him flying into the ground. "W- H- Impossible! You can move in stopped time as well?!"

"That's cause it ain't stopped time, dumbass!" Cyclonio said, looking at the Star, horrified upon realising that someone else had cracked the code. "What's wrong, Star? Someone finally able to fight you in this state?"

"E-enough! What are you playing at?!" The Star said, summoning an array of energy blades, attempting to calm himself down.

"I'm not playing at anything. You just make yourself move so fast, it SEEMS like time has stopped. It's a simple energy trick I learnt while fighting the Emperor."

"Th-they lied to me?!"

"Who knows? Maybe your friend CAN stop time! But I'll tell you one thing: The tables aren't in your favour anymore, Star." Cyclonio said, the Star seeing a fire burning in Cyclonio's eyes, now burning hotter than ever.

Time had returned to its normal state.

Terrano saw Cyclonio standing in front of him, staring down the Star. "Cy?" Terrano asked in confusion, having last seen him gasping for air as a result of the Star's attack. Not looking at Terrano, Cyclonio said in response: "I cracked the code. You deal with him normally, I'll deal with him in his stopped time. I don't know how long I'll be able to move around, but we'll have to see." The Star, visibly shaken, looked at the two. However, this fear slowly turned into panicked anger, with the Star summoning the blades of energy to attack Terrano, only for Cyclonio to summon two energy shields to defend Terrano. "Why aren't you fused with Ian, Cy?!" Terrano said as he ran closer and closer to the Star.

"The Cycloid was too slow for my standard! I'm way more mobile on my own!" Cyclonio said, throwing the two shields at the Star like discs before summoning two more. The Star backhanded both shields away before punching Cyclonio away from Terrano. However, Cyclonio was grabbed by the leg and brought back into the fight, delivering a swift kick to the Star's abdomen, sending them towards a large chunk of the mountain. Seeing the Star being sent flying, Cyclonio and Terrano took the time to fist bump one another. The Star emerged from the remains of the chunk, a hatred burning in their eyes. "You might think that knowing my power is going to help you, but nothing has changed, Hurricusso! NOTHING-"

Stheno appeared from behind the Star, firing a massive eye beam at them, knocking them away from where they were standing. Cyclonio laughed at the Star, then gave a thumbs up to Stheno as she approached the two. "Heard your babbling from earlier, Windy." Stheno said jokingly, calling Cyclonio "Windy" as a part of a joke. Cyclonio was annoyed at first, but upon realising that it was a joke, had a laugh with Stheno. "Yeah, what about it, Tincan?" Cyclonio said in response, deciding to call Stheno "Tincan" as a way to get back at her for his nickname.

"Thought I'd drop in to help out. Seems like you're the one person here who can deal with him when he's got that thing active. We can't do anything in him in that time, but we can give him hell before then."

The Star flew towards the three, angered. "Seems like he's in on the plan as well, let's do it." Cyclonio said, readying a ball of energy to combat the Star. Stheno ran towards them, having Terrano boost her into the air and cut the Star in the back, cutting into their spine as a result. Both she and the Star were sent off course. However, Cyclonio flew in and grabbed Stheno at the last moment, seeing the Star regain their balance and stare at him and Stheno. "Throw me again, I might be able to cripple one of his arms this time-" Stheno said, then seeing a large chunk of ice fall onto the Star, crushing them.

Hydranian then landed next to Stheno and Cyclonio, Terrano catching up not soon after. "Took ya long enough." Stheno said to Hydranian, looking at the large chunk of ice on top of the Star. Hydranian let out a sigh, saying: "You don't get large chunks like that out of thin air, especially here."

"Where's Medusa?"

"She's helping Temp-"

Time had stopped.

The Star lifted the chunk of ice out of the rubble, now focused on killing the Outlaws above all else, even Kronos' ultimate goal for Terra. Cyclonio, seeing this, flew towards the Star, preparing to attack him. "Not this time..!" The Star thought to himself, using his powers to teleport behind Cyclonio and send a large ice bolt towards their direction, impaling them in the arm and pinning them to the ground. "Wait... something's wrong... time should have resumed by now!" Cyclonio thought to himself, watching as the Star slowly approached his friends. The Star took a quick glance back, noticing that Cyclonio was looking on in horror. "I would like to thank you, Hurricusso." the Star said, turning back and continuing his approach.

"Thank me? Thank me for what?!" Cyclonio then thought, becoming confused as to why he was being thanked for whatever reasons the Star had. To Cyclonio, all he had done to the Star was impede and halt his progress towards enacting Kronos' plans for Terra. There was nothing that he could be thanked for, to him, at least. However, all would be answer when the Star would turn to Cyclonio, smiling before saying: "Thanks to your great mind, I have finally discovered how to extend my full capabilities. I no longer require assistance from The World to accomplish my goals. I have bigger plans for this world in mind. But, before I begin..." The Star said, preparing a V Hyperbeam pointed directly at Terrano, Stheno and Hydranian. "A parting gift, of sorts. For a wonderful helper!" The Star said, turning to the trio with a grin.

Cyclonio attempted to pry himself free from the ice bolt, but to no avail. It was well and truly dug into the ground. If Cyclonio wanted to help his friends, he was going to have to rip off his arm. Unable to do anything, Cyclonio could only let out a loud "NO!" as the Star cackled upon seeing him in complete and utter despair. However, in the distance, both he and the Star heard the sound of a saber igniting, and systems powering up. Confused, both elementals turned around, seeing a distinct glow in a covered area of the mountain. The Star raised an eyebrow upon seeing this, then looking at Cyclonio. However, before he could ask a question, a large beam erupted from the rubble, striking the Star and sending them away from the three. From the dust, a figure could be made out, one holding a sword whose blade gave off a distinct violet glow. The figure slowly walked out of the dust, the identity of this figure slowly becoming more and more clear. Judgement emerged from the smoke, the tubes keeping them in stasis slowly popping off of them. "Stay away from my brother's friends." Judgement said, looking at the location the Star had landed.

"Judgement?" Cyclonio asked in confusion, unsure if he was talking to Judgement, the penultimate test subject, or Gusturo, his brother. Judgement, noticing that the Star was most likely dazed from the hit, turned to Cyclonio, trying to smile at him. "Gusturo." Judgement said in response, seeing his brother's face widen in happiness. He could tell that from his look, he had arrived right on time. However, he also knew that whatever was going on, it had to be finished, and fast.

Time had returned to its normal state.

The hisses of the tubes holding Judgement, as well as a loud bang where the Star had collided were heard. Upon seeing Cyclonio pinned down by the ice bolt, Hydranian immediately removed the bolt, allowing Cyclonio time to heal his wound. The three simply looked at Judgement in surprise, not expecting him to show up to join the battle. In response, Judgement simply nodded, then preparing for the Star's next attack. A hand emerged from a large pile of rubble, followed by the Star, visibly bruised and bleeding. The Star simply looked at Judgement, angry. "You traitor..." The Star muttered, preparing a small blackhole to attack Judgement with. "You should have stayed dead!" The Star shouted in anger, throwing the blackhole at Judgement, aiming to erase him alongside the other Outlaws. However, Judgement grabbed the blackhole, then crushing it in their hand, sending shock into the Star's heart. "H-HOW?!" The Star shouted in disbelief, noticing that Judgement was slowly walking towards them. "You were but a mere Blank elemental when I last saw you! What power awoke within you?!"

"You seem to have forgotten what I represent, Star." Judgement said, glaring at the Star while keeping his pace. "The word Judgement is sometimes considered as a calamity considered as a punishment from those above." The Star was slowly beginning to become more and more stressed, beginning to remember exactly what Judgement had become after his defeat. "But who the person or group being punished is, varies on your context. However, I no longer serve as a weapon, Star." Cyclonio got back up on his feet, shaking from the experience he was just put through, then looking at his brother, walking towards the Star, ready to finish him off. "I have a soul, Star. I have people who care about me. I understand the emotions of others and act upon them. I am alive, Star. I am but a machine, but despite this, I am far more alive than you will ever be." Judgement said, seeing the Star ready another attack on him. However, he remained unfazed, being more than prepared to deal with him once the time came. "Now, Star. Your time has come." Judgement pointed his sword towards the Star, looking at him one final time.

"You WILL be judged." Judgement then said, allowing the Star to make the first attack. Infuriated at Judgement's claims, alongside the fact that Judgement had seemingly brushed off his attacks as nothing, the Star dashed towards Judgement and jumped into the air, summoning several earthen spears to attack them with. The Star scoffed at Judgement before flinging the spears at them at full speed. Judgement rolled out of the way of some of the spears, cutting down any that were in his way, and making sure to redirect any where possible. In response, he fired a laser from his left hand at the Star, aiming to at least knock them out of the air so that they were easier to deal with. The Star saw the beam, choosing to attempt to grab it. However, the Star was met with some resistance, but was able to control the beam, sending it back towards Judgement and causing them to be embedded into the ground from the laser.

However, before Judgement was able to regain their footing, several red string-like threads wrapped themselves around his arms and legs. The Star took hold of these threads with his free hand and chose to throw Judgement into another part of the ground, only for them to activate several tiny thrusters on their back, lessening their impact and allowing them to regain their footing. Judgement warped the blade of his saber to better resemble that of a boomerang, then throwing it at the Star at full force, aiming to cut them in half. The Star noticed the shape of the blade, and prepared for it to return once he dodged the first time it approached him. The blade came closer and closer to them until the Star moved upwards, ensuring the return would not hit them either. However, Judgement jumped into the air, catching the saber and hitting the Star into the air with it.

The Star summoned more strings to attempt to hold Judgement in place, only for him to cut the strings into pieces. Judgement simply stared at the Star, sending an unusual chill down their spine. However, they continued their attack, aiming to destroy Judgement and deal with the rest of the Outlaws later. The Star flew downwards in the direction of Judgement, delivering a hammer kick into the back of their head and sending them into the ground. The Star continued flying down, delivering a flurry of punches to Judgement's body during their fall, culminating in one large strike, resulting in a crater being formed as a result of Judgement's impact. The Outlaws prepared to fight the Star, only to see a beam of energy hit the Star, sending them flying away from the Outlaws. Judgement arose from the ground, saying to the Outlaws: "Deal with the others, I'll deal with the Star." Judgement ran towards the area where the Star was headed, jumping into the air and kicking them in the abdomen, sending them upwards.

The Star regained their footing, looking at Judgement down below, who was preparing another attack. In response, the Star combined the elements of Void and Energy to create an attack that was incredibly unstable and would rip any unsuspecting individual to shreds upon contact. The Star flung the attack at Judgement, looking on to see what was going to happen. However, by throwing it from above, this gave Judgement time to form a counter attack. Judgement tapped into their raw strength as a robot designed purely for destruction, firing a massive laser beam at the ball, completely destroying it. A massive blow was dealt to the Star's temple, the sound of their skull cracking being heard, even from Judgement, "What? HOW?!" The Star thought to themselves, seeing Judgement looking at them in anger while delivering the blow. They were sent flying into a mountain, causing a large cloud of dust to cover the location of the Star.

However, their pain was not yet finished, as Judgement was flying towards them at an incredible speed. However, aiming to stop Judgement before they could get anymore damage in on them, the Star grabbed Judgement's fist with their left hand, taking the full brunt of Judgement's impact. Both forces collided, creating a massive wave of heat from the location of the mountain. The Star charged up their free hand with all four primary elements, using it to deliver a punch to Judgement's face, sending them away from themself. The Star was breathing heavily from the fight, and visibly sweating, looking at Judgement, who had crashed into the ground from the impact. "How am I supposed to deal with him? No matter what I throw, it always seems like he's got a counter to it!" The Star thought to themselves, trying to think up a strategy to combat Judgement, despite their failing efforts so far.

Judgement, however, got up from the impact, grabbing their right arm, and looking at their face in a nearby pond. It had been greatly damaged, parts of the panels on his face having popped off of their intended positions, his right eye glitching out, and a noticeable dent being seen where the Star had punched them. All over their body, damage was seen throughout, including cracks, dents, damaged wires and sometimes even missing plates. "Focus, Gusturo... they're all counting on you..." Judgement thought to himself, beginning to focus as several nanobots emerged from the chinks in his robotic body to repair his injuries. "Now... to figure out how I'm supposed to deal with him." Judgement then thought as the repairs on his face were being completed. However, he heard something coming down from the mountain. It wasn't the Star, they were in the other side of the mountain, Judgement wondered, what was it? When he turned around, however, he found that an avalanche, caused by the impact of the attacks, was speeding down towards him, aiming to bury him in the snow and revert him to his standby mode.

In a frenetic manner, Judgement completed the repairs on his body and flew away from the avalanche, confronting the Star. "You... you might think that you're strong enough to defeat me, but you... you are NOTHING!" The Star said, looking at Judgement while breathing heavily. "You aren't even one of us, you're a mistake! A genetic flaw! You shouldn't exist!" Judgement simply looked at the Star, noticing that they too, were visibly battered from their fight. "But now? Now isn't the time to be insulting you, now? Now is the time for this fight to end!" The Star said, concentrating all of their energy into one large burst, covering nearly all of Elementalia.

Time had stopped.

The Star looked at Judgement, frozen in time, unmoving and vulnerable. The Star let out a small chuckle at this sight, charging up a beam comprised of Water, Earth, Fire, Air, Energy, Void, as well as the powers of Life and Death itself. This beam would end up ravaging any and everything it came into contact with, but by using it, the Star would also take a large hit from its abilities. "I thank you for the fight, Judgement. However, such is what happens when a mortal dares to challenge a god." The Star said to Judgement's still body, their chuckle slowly turning into a laugh, then to pure, unadulterated insanity. However, what the Star had not realised was that in their laughing fit, Judgement had managed to break free of the stopped time, and had already prepared a counter to the Star's attack.

Time had returned to its normal state.

Several bombs exploded in the Star's direction, creating smoke in the crater they were in and throwing off their aim. "Huh?!" The Star said in confusion, firing the beam anyway, believing that Judgement was still in their original location. After using the beam, the Star used a powerful gust of air to clear the smoke and dust, looking around for Judgement. However, he was nowhere to be seen. A blue glow was emanating from behind the Star, as well as a rising tone being heard. The Star turned around, seeing Judgement's left arm, charging up a laser and firing at them, sending them out of the mountain along with the beam. Judgement didn't dissapate the beam, allowing it to continue firing, sending the Star further and further away from Elementalia, eventually ending up in Eclipsor territory. Judgement flew towards the Star as fast as they could, punching them into the ground again, and again, and again.

Judgement stood up, looking at the Star, beaten to a bloody pulp and on the ground, defeated. Judgement then looked at his hands, stained with blood, the Star's blood. Both he and the Star had been completely put to their limits, it was clear that he could only do so much to help the Outlaws, but, if taking out the Star was enough to help seal a victory, Judgement wouldn't have had it any other way. Letting out a sigh, he took one final look at the Star before preparing to return to Elementalia. If the Star wasn't yet dead, then they would have died as a result of the amount of blood that had been lost throughout the fight. However, the Star got back up, aiming to take Judgement with them to the grave. "I-If I'm going... you're- you're... going with me!" The Star said, coughing up blood and charging up one final beam made purely out of the last of their strength. Judgement simply turned around, looking at the Star dead in the eyes. "Star, give up. Please. You're going to get yourself killed if you fire this. Please, at least accept your loss." Judgement said to the Star, wanting them to acknowledge their defeat and die peacefully.

The Star simply laughed at Judgement's pleas, believing them to be lying to get an easy victory. The beam fully charged, the Star letting out one final scream of anger. "I Will NEVER accept defeat!" The Star shouted, firing the laser at Judgement, forcing him to have to react. In a split-second decision, Judgement fired back, using another beam of energy, causing the two beams to clash in a massive light. However, once Judgement noticed that despite the beam's power, he was not being hurt at all, he began walking towards the Star, each step harder than the next, until eventually, he came face-to-face with the Star. "Then I will finish this, myself." Judgement said, grabbing the Star's battered body by the neck and flying into space. The two eventually ended up in the edge of Terra's atmosphere, with Judgement saying to the Star: "Forgive me, my friend." before firing a beam into the centre of their head, killing the Star instantly. Judgement flew back to Elementalia, carrying the Star's deceased body to an undisclosed area in the Elementalian fields. Judgement hollowed out a hole in the ground, carefully letting the Star down into it, before burying their dead body. However, Judgement's power reserves were running low from the fight, meaning that he too, would end up dying if he did not find a way to regain power.

In a last-ditch attempt to save his life, he switched to an inactive state, where he would still be able to witness what was happening around him, but would be unable to interact with the world. Judgement's lifeless body stood kneeling in front of the Star's grave, where it would be untouched by time, becoming lost to everyone, including the Outlaws. However, Judgement's final thoughts were not of himself, or the world, they were of Cyclonio, his brother, having wished to say goodbye to his brother one final time, but being unable to. However, the time for that had since long passed. After all that the Outlaws and Judgement had done, the Star had finally been defeated.

Upon sensing the death of the Star, The World destroyed the bubble containing them, letting out an ear-piercing shriek, one which was so loud, Cyclonio blocked his ears while looking at The World in frustration. "Great, one's gone, what do we do now?" Cyclonio tried to say over the sound of the shriek, but was unable to be heard. The World looked at Medusa in anger, sensing something special within her. Medusa, in response, looked back at The World, confused, but prepared for a fight. "What's with this guy?! Why's he looking at me?" Medusa thought to herself, preparing a set of daggers to use in order to fight against The World. Stheno readied her sword, looking at her sister and smiling at her. "Sis, lighten up. We're almost done here."

"Medusa, it's alright. It's just one last elemental. How bad can it be?" Cyclonio said, readying his energy sword as Terrano loosened up and prepared himself for what was to come. However, The World did not break eye contact with Medusa, instead, the opposite appeared to happen as its gaze only grew stronger and stronger, more and more hatred building up within The World's core. "YOU ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PLIGHT OF THE ELEMENTALS, MEDUSA." The World said to Medusa, throwing her off. "HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR YOUR SELFISH AND OUTRIGHT CRUEL ACTIONS, PERHAPS THE ONES YOU HAVE KILLED TO GET TO THIS STAGE COULD HAVE LIVED A BETTER LIFE. PERHAPS THE ONE THAT YOU HAVE LOST WOULD STILL BE ALIVE." The World then said, attempting to use Zealon's death as a means to completely destroy Medusa from the inside-out, and take her out personally.

Stheno pointed her sword at The World, furious at the Elemental for attempting to talk down her sister. "What's he got to do with you, tincan?!" Stheno shouted in anger, looking The World dead in the eyes, more than ready to completely destroy them. "YOU SPEAK SIMILAR TO THAT OF A HERO, GORGON. HOWEVER, THE ONLY HERO AMONG ALL OF YOU IS NOW GONE. IN HIS PLACE, A GROUP OF BANDITS. OUTLAWS. MURDERERS. VILLAINS." The World said to Stheno in response, causing both Cyclonio and Terrano to speak for her. "We're villains, you say? Okay, yeah! Maybe we are! Well, guess what, buddy? If we're villains, then you might just be the most f**king bats**t crazy person I've EVER had the pleasure of meeting!" Cyclonio said, trying to downplay The World, then allowing Terrano to say something in response. "Alright, The World. You were always played up as the strongest of all of us, but honestly, from what I've seen, anyone who allows themselves to be trapped by Famine, I can EASILY deal with. I'm gonna ENJOY kicking your teeth in!"

"We might be villains, World. But one thing you don't know, is that we are anything BUT what you say." Hydranian said, summoning an ice hammer and shield. "We have people we are fighting for. People who care about us, people who look up to us to protect them. What has happened, has happened. What we do now, is all that matters." The World broke their gaze off of Medusa, instead looking towards the other Outlaws, how they intended to back each other up. Seeing this, The World laughed to themselves. All their life, they never required help from anyone, and those who did require help from others, or helped eachother were seen as weak to them. "And you know what? Who gives a f**k if we've done horrible things in the past? We've atoned for them, we've been forgiven, we've changed! You will NOT be taking us down for our past!"

"YOU WISH TO DEFY YOUR PAST ACTIONS?" The World said in response, showing the remnants of every single elemental that had fallen up until this point in his hand. The World looked at the remnants, then at the Outlaws, closing their hand and absorbing the power of all of the Elementals. "VERY WELL THEN," The World stared at the Outlaws, ready for a fight. "I'LL CRUSH YOU MYSELF!" The World disappeared in the bilnk of an eye, then appearing behind Cyclonio and firing several thousand beams of plasma at him, teleporting once more and trapping Terrano within a box of packed ice, and closing it as much as possible, aiming to crush him. However, Terrano was able to create a compartment underneath the box, narrowly saving himself. However, The World then dashed towards Stheno, readying a massive emerald green orb, and aiming it directly at her face, up close. "FALL." The World said, causing the orb to explode and send several emerald-like crystals flying towards all of the Outlaws, sending Stheno flying.

The World then summoned several semi-transparent red strings, ensnaring Cyclonio and Hydranian, and using them to attempt to fight Terrano and Stheno respectively. Medusa aimed to join in, but was trapped in a chamber of fire by The World. "NO, YOU WILL STAY HERE." The World said to Medusa, looking at her. "YOU WILL WITNESS THOSE YOU CARE ABOUT DIE BEFORE YOUR EYES, MUCH LIKE WHAT THE SOLDIERS OF YOUR EMPIRE WERE FORCED TO WITNESS BECAUSE OF YOUR SELFISHNESS." The World then said, turning to Stheno and Terrano.

"Don't listen to them, Medusa! We'll find a way out of this-" Cyclonio said before the strings tightened around his wrists, causing him to scream in pain. He, much like Hydranian, was then forced to fight Stheno and Terrano, neither side wanting to fight the other, but all Medusa could do was simply watch the fight unfold before her as The World looked her dead in the eyes, still unsatisfied with their actions. "This is insane! Can't you see we've changed?! We're good people!" Medusa said in a panic, pleading for The World to stop attacking her friends.

"NONSENSE." The World said in response. "YOUR ACTIONS BY STRIKING DOWN THESE ELEMENTALS PROVES YOU WRONG. MY MIND HAS BEEN MADE. I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU ARE ALL DEAD."

"Until we're all dead... Alright, let's finish this, then." Medusa thought to herself, preparing to break out of the chamber that she was trapped within. "Alright, Lenathor. Let's see how you would've done against these!" Medusa then thought, tapping into the power of the Magician before summoning a large blackhole around her in an attempt to collapse the chamber inside of itself. Inside of the blackhole, Medusa heard the rumblings of the chamber, then, nothing. Medusa exited the blackhole, only to be greeted with a ball of energy being fired into her face, sending her away from the fight. Medusa clung onto the right half of her face in pain, then taking a look in a nearby puddle to see that it had been completely blasted off, similar to the way that Euryale's face had been blown off as a result of the explosive bullets that Medusa had used against her sister.

However, all around her, the area she was fighting in slowly began to shift in appearance, going from a lush green field to a charred, dead piece of land flooded with fire. Emerging from these flames, was The World, who was shifting in between themselves, then switching to Medusa's appearance, then Lenathor's, then finally, Zealon's. Medusa looked in horror at the World, who only grew closer. "GOING FAR ENOUGH SO AS TO ATTACK YOUR SISTER. NOT EVEN I AM AS WICKED AS YOUR PUTRID HEART, GORGON." The World said, looking down at Medusa. However, Medusa got back up on her feet, looking at The World. However, they instead attacked Medusa, forcing her back down to the ground. This would continue each time Medusa attempted to get back up, all the while the other Outlaws were busy being attacked by one another. Then, in a last ditch-effort in an attempt to stop The World from keeping her down, Medusa pulled out a pistol, and fired the entire magazine into The World's head.

Oddly enough, The World seemed to simply take the bullets into their head, however, when the bullets exploded, completely shattering the left side of The World's helmet, all would be revealed to the Outlaws.

The strings holding Cyclonio and Hydranian disappeared, causing the four to rush to Medusa's side while The World clung onto the exposed side of their helmet. "What'd you do to them, Sis?" Stheno asked Medusa as Hydranian used Justice's technique of healing wounds to tend to Medusa, while using a piece of ice to cover her damaged face. "I- I used the bullets. Every last one." Medusa said in response as the four moved her away from The World. Medusa took the time to breathe and recover from her wounds while Cyclonio and Terrano prepared for another attack. However, what they saw shook them down to their core. "Cy, you good?!" Stheno asked Cyclonio, who was frozen in fear. Cyclonio still stood there, frozen. "Cy, are you there?! We need you!" Stheno asked again, this time concerned for Cyclonio. Snapping out of his trance, Cyclonio said in a panic: "When I give the go ahead, pump as much lead as you can! We NEED to bodybag this guy before-" Cyclonio, Terrano, Hydranian and Stheno's faces were covered in a strange haze, sending them away from Medusa. When Medusa turned to see The World, however, she had finally gotten a glimpse of someone that she had never thought she would see again, and finally understood as to why Cyclonio was so horrified.

The World removed their hand from their face, revealing the decaying remains of Zealon. "Oh my god... Z..." Medusa thought to herself, horrified what had become of Zealon. The World slowly approached Medusa, seeing the sorrow on her face. "Zealon, what- what happened to you?" Medusa asked The World, realising that by a technicality, she had been fighting Zealon, this entire time. At long last, everything clicked, why she had felt like a familiar face had returned from the grave, why The World was staring at her when they first saw one another, why that feeling of familiarity was present with someone she believed was a stranger. Finally, it had all clicked. It was because it was someone that was familiar to her. "I do not wish for you to call me Zealon, monster. I am The World- No, considering my newfound power... I'm above this world, wouldn't you say? No longer am I The World, now? You shall call me by my true name. The Universe." The World said, rechristening themselves as The Universe due to the powers that they now had. "I never understood why you appealed so much to this corpse's mind, but now I finally see why. But, it no longer matters. Your time ends here."

The Universe prepared one final beam, comprised of the collective power of every single test subject, aimed directly at Medusa's head. Medusa simply fell to her knees, hanging her head in defeat. If she couldn't harm The Universe, how was she supposed to harm them, now that she knew their real identity? With this knowledge, Medusa resigned to her fate, believing that Elementalia was well and truly finished for good. "Ian, Cy, Terrano, Sis, I'm sorry... I couldn't beat them, after all. Please, forgive me for what I've done." Medusa thought to herself as she saw the glow of the beam. However, The Universe's beam was redirected into the sky, confusing both them and Medusa. "What?!" The Universe said in disbelief, realising that the beam was for nothing. A semi-transparent blue Archidon stood in the way of Medusa and The Universe, having redirected the shot into the sky. Medusa rubbed her eyes in confusion, believing it to be a hallucination. However, this was no hallucination, this was Zealon, or, at least, his ghost, having returned to assist in the final battle. Zealon then summoned a bow and rocket arrow, firing it and sending The Universe away, allowing Medusa time to recover.

"The Medusa I knew would've never given up like that!" Zealon said, holding his hand out for Medusa and encouraging her to continue fighting. Medusa's awe turned to confidence as she grabbed Zealon's hand, lifting herself up to continue the fight. "Hey, Medusa. Sorry I'm late." Zealon said, apologising for not appearing earlier. Medusa let out a chuckle, then simply saying in response: "Better late than never, Z. Better late than never." The Universe returned, holding the arrow, furious at Zealon's intervention. "YOUR TIME HERE IS OVER, ARCHIDON! LEAVE!" The Universe said in anger, realising that Zealon's spirit had returned from his slumber in order to ensure that victory for the Outlaws was still possible. "Listen buddy, I promised myself that I would NEVER rest until my friends were safe! So long as you exist, I still exist!" Zealon said as his ghostly form slowly materialised into his physical form, complete with all the gear he had when he had been killed by Lenathor. Zealon then turned to Medusa, smiling. "So, whaddya say? One last fight?" He asked Medusa, wondering if she would be able to help him take on The Universe.

"Yeah, one last fight." Medusa said, readying two daggers and loading them with venom. Infuriated, The Universe created a massive wave of energy, causing the entire battlefield that the three were fighting on to turn into a complete, white void. "I hope you remember that nothing can exist without an opposite, Zealon. Light cannot exist without darkness, much like bravery cannot exist without fear, and much like how you will NEVER be able to rid me completely without being rid of as well!" The Universe said, preparing for a fight that would decide the fate of Elementalia.

"Well, in that case..." Zealon said, taking out a rifle and a shotgun, and activating his mask. "I'd better make this count, then!" The Universe fired a beam aimed at Zealon's abdomen, only for Zealon to summon his cloak and use it to absorb the energy within the beam. Medusa appeared from behind The Universe, impaling their back with both daggers, causing a large stinging feeling in their back. The Universe shook Medusa off of their back, trapping them within a large emerald cage. However, Zealon pulled out a pistol and fired several explosive bullets at the cage, causing it to be destroyed, and allowing Medusa to continue fighting. The Universe flew towards Zealon at high speed, grabbing them by the neck and throwing them into Medusa, then charging up a beam of pure plasma, intending to vaporise the two. "DIE!" The Universe screamed, firing the beam. Zealon threw Medusa away from the direction of the beam, aiming to allow himself to be erased, if it meant Medusa would be able to finish them off. However, Medusa grabbed Zealon, also throwing him away from the beam.

"I've lost you once to that, I am not losing you to that again!" Medusa said to Zealon, preparing a volley of daggers to throw at The Universe. Zealon smiled, pulling out a shotgun and jumping in the direction of The Universe, firing several shells into their chest, face and back, damaging their one good eye. The Universe summoned a massive magma pit, aiming to have Zealon melt within it. "Oh boy... I remember this from that Fire Lover guy." Zealon thought to himself, grabbing a bullet and throwing it out of the pit, aiming to fool The Universe into believing that they were attempting to escape. Amazingly enough, they had fallen for it, destroying the bullet and disappating the pit. "Wrong thing, buddy!" Zealon said, using one of his rocket boots to pin down The Universe, allowing him to unload everything in his arsenal on the elemental. However, The Universe cut off the part of their body which had been pinned down by the boot, using the opportinuty to gut Zealon.

"NO!" Medusa said in despair, which quickly turned to anger. In a fit of rage, Medusa threw as many daggers as she could at The Universe, then lunging at them. However, unlike his death at the hands of the Magician, Zealon was alright, using the opportunity to plant a sticky bomb on The Universe's arm and move himself free. "Forgot to mention, that doesn't work!" Zealon said, breaking free of The Universe's hold and allowing the bomb to explode. Medusa appeared from the smoke covering The Universe's view, impaling their eyes with two daggers and jumping away. Pulling away the daggers, The Universe laughed at Medusa, saying: "Without eyes, I no longer fear your stone gaze, Medusa! You have made this fight all the more easier for me!"

"I won't need the gaze!" Medusa said, smiling at The Universe. "Besides, I kinda learnt how to not rely on it for fights like this, so have fun!" Zealon then tapped The Universe's shoulder, stabbing their neck with a knife and using a jetpack to move away from them as fast as possible. "Plus, makes your defeat all the more humiliating, I guess!" Zealon said, laughing at his own response, annoying The Universe.

"ENOUGH! Are you two going to take this fight seriously, or will I have to personally rip your to shreds molecule-by-molecule?!" The Universe said in response, believing that as a result of Zealon's return, Medusa no longer saw them as a threat, and was therefore fighting in a more "primitive" manner. "Oh, you want us to take this fight seriously? Alright then, let's fight for real!" Zealon said, pulling out two pistols and firing at The Universe. In response, they summoned several plumes of fire aimed at Zealon, with him dodging them and continuing to fire. Medusa ran around to the back of The Universe, throwing more and more daggers at them. However, in response, The Universe tapped into the powers of the Devil, summoning several magma jets aimed at Medusa. In response, Medusa jumped into the air, throwing daggers with chains at the ends at the palms of The Universe's hands, then grabbing onto the chains and using them as a slingshot, sending herself towards The Universe and kicking them in the head.

Zealon took out his bow, firing an arrow which also had a chain wrapped around it, causing said arrow to impale The Universe's shoulder. "Always wanted to try this!" Zealon said, excited. He then pressed a button on his quiver, causing a powerful electrical current to run down the chain, electrocuting The Universe. "Get em, Medusa!" Zealon shouted, confident that the current would be able to keep The Universe stunned long enough to get a considerable amount of damage inflicted. Medusa nodded, taking out her gladius and attacking The Universe with it as fast as possible, causing several cuts on their body which, while they healed immediately, did show that The Universe could be harmed in this state. The Universe growled at Zealon, overloading the current with his own energy, causing the arrow to explode. "S**t! Alright, then! That's a no-go!" Zealon said as he pulled out a rifle and fired at The Universe.

Medusa switched out her gladius for several explosive daggers, throwing them at The Universe in an attempt to divert their attention from Zealon. "Wait, those are like my bullets- Ohhhhh, I get it! Not bad!" Zealon thought to himself, realising that Medusa had, in fact, reverse engineered his explosive bullets and used the technology to create explosive daggers. "Well, in that case, I'm gonna join in!" Zealon then thought, grabbing his pistol loaded with explosive bullets and firing at The Universe, causing a massive cloud of smoke to envelop them. The Universe then emerged from said smoke, aiming to impale Zealon through the head with a blow to the head. However, a brown cloak covered their face alongside a powerful blow directly to the centre of the head, sending them away from Zealon. "You've still got that?!" Zealon asked in surprise, realising that after all this time, Medusa had kept her once green cloak that she had worn as queen of the Chaos Empire. Medusa chuckled, saying in response: "What can I say? The new colour's pretty nice, as well."

The Universe then summoned several, large clumps of violet gel to stick onto the two, intending to blow them up. However, The Universe now knew how agile Medusa and Zealon were, using several blackholes to pin the two down in place. "The hell?! This guy me, or is this guy Lenathor IN me?!" Zealon asked Medusa, now completely unsure if The Universe was indeed his corpse reanimated and given the powers of all of eight elements. "I wouldn't know! But that thing does have your corpse within them, so maybe-"

"I AM ABOVE LENATHOR, FOOLS!" The Universe shouted, summoning a large burst of energy, forcing Zealon and Medusa to have to endure the burst. Zealon then looked at The Universe, laughing. "Really, huh? If you ARE above him, how come you can't even kill me?" Zealon asked, then revealing that he still had the hole in his abdomen from when Lenathor had killed him. "It will not be you I kill, Zealon. It will be EVERYONE on this pathetic island they call home!" The Universe said in response, then flying over to Medusa and grabbing her by the neck. "And it shall be the one you hold closest to your heart who goes first!" The Universe prepared to fire a beam aimed directly at Medusa's head, simply to spite Zealon. However, Zealon ran as fast as he could towards The Universe, delivering a powerful blow to their temple, causing them to let go of Medusa and be sent flying away from the

"Alright, I've had enough of dealing with this guy. How about we finish this right here, right now?" Zealon asked Medusa, with her later nodding in response. However, what they didn't realise was that The Universe was laughing at Zealon's question, responding by saying: "Fine, but if you wish to destroy me for good, then you will first need to survive THIS!" The Universe said as several bursts of energy appeared, each causing something to materialise. First a massive volley of energy spears, next, multiple robots, eerily similar to the robots that acted as Judgement's immune system, and lastly, several thousand beams, each comprised of an overcharged variant of an element. "Survive this? Alright. Let's do this!" Medusa shouted, grabbing a gladius and passing it to Zealon. The two first evaded the spears, deflecting as many as they could, while using the other spears to attack the robots with. Once all the spears had vanished, the two then used the robots as shields, using them against as many beams as they could. However, the beams just kept coming, with no end in sight.

"How many of these things are there?!" Zealon said, slowly running out of robots to use as shields. The Universe laughed at the two struggling, believing them to be done for. "Don't know! Just keep defending against these!" Medusa shouted, throwing a robot at the beams. Eventually, Medusa resorted to using her gladius to deflect the beams, but once the gladius gave out, Medusa switched to her daggers, then to her cloak, and finally, attempting to find as much protection from the beams as possible. However, upon seeing this, Zealon used himself as a shield, protecting Medusa from the beams, even if it cost him his own soul. The beams eventually subsided, resulting in The Universe kicking Zealon aside, and preparing a sword to behead Medusa with. However, right as the strike was about to land, Zealon grabbed his bow, using it as a staff to block the strike with, providing him with an opportunity to protect Medusa once more. In the little time he had, Zealon pushed Medusa aside, taking the hit from the blade.

Seeing this, Medusa jumped at Zealon, grabbing his bow and using it in conjunction with her gladius, hitting The Universe over and over again, with no end in sight. Eventually, Medusa used both Zealon's bow and her gladius to send The Universe into the air, using the opportunity to use the power of the Magician to fire one final attack at The Universe, aiming to finish them off. Concentrating all of her power into one final strike, Medusa summoned a beam comprised entirely of pure darkness, intending to create a hole in The Universe to finish them off for good. However, The Universe fired back, using a beam composed of all eight elements to clash with the beam. "I cannot lose... I WILL not lose now!" The Universe thought to themselves, using the last of their energy in an attempt to ensure victory. However, Zealon appeared from behind them, grabbing both of The Universe's arms and putting them to his sides, disappating The Universe's beam and allowing Medusa to fire the beam directly into the centre of The Universe. However, this attack also went through Zealon, going through him as well. "Medusa, I'm so sorry..." Zealon thought to himself as the beam went through both him and The Universe.

Medusa, upon realising this, ran to Zealon, who was falling alongside The Universe as the world around them started to fade back into reality. Medusa caught Zealonin her arms, seeing the very same hole in his abdomen that was caused by Lenathor. The Universe, however, wasn't so lucky. As a result of the beam, they slowly started to fade from existence, being unable to touch either Zealon or Medusa. Reverting back to their original self as The World, they let out one final "NO!" as they were erased for good. The final elemental had been taken care of. The Outlaws had won.

"Huh... What happened?" Cyclonio said, clinging to his head in pain. However, upon looking to his right, he saw Medusa, holding what seemed to be the corpse of a stickman. "Oh, s**t!" Cyclonio then said, running towards Medusa.

"Sis!" Stheno said, following Cyclonio in running towards Medusa and Zealon. Hydranian got back up on his feet, seeing that The World had been destroyed, let out a sigh of relief. "I did it, Figlio. I kept my promise." Hydranian said, then slowly walking to Medusa and Zealon. Terrano didn't say a word, simply running towards Zealon and Medusa.

"Oh my god, is that- It IS actually you this time, right? I- I'm not hallucinating, am I?!" Cyclonio said in shock, realising that Zealon had returned from his grave. Terrano simply looked in surprise, realising that whatever had happened, Zealon had most likely returned. "Hah, h-hey, guys. Long time no see." Zealon said, trying to smile at the others. Stheno then approached Medusa and Zealon, noticing that Medusa's face had healed from the attacks she had endured. "It... seems like you've been through a lot, Sis. But, I just wanted to say that, I'm proud of you." Stheno said, smiling at Medusa while holding back tears. "I'm proud of my little sister, and how far she's come from the queen of Chaos. They can say what they want, but to me, you're a hero, Sis. You always have, and always will be." Stheno then said, hugging Medusa. Medusa, letting out a sigh of relief, said to Stheno in response: "Stheno, you don't need to be proud of me. I'm just doing what I believe is right." Medusa said as Zealon attempted to regain his footing after getting out of Medusa's arms. "I was always looking for forgiveness for what I did, but now? I guess I've got it, huh?"

"Ah, come on, Medusa! Bring it in, would ya?!" Cyclonio said, laughing. Cyclonio then joined in on the hug, followed by Hydranian, and finally, Terrano. Zealon, however, stayed away from the hug, instead looking at his hands, and noticing that he was slowly starting to fade away. Looking into the sky, Zealon focused, then asked for one simple thing. "Please, I don't know if you are out there, but please, just give me enough time to say my goodbyes. Just let me hold out for a little longer."

"Z, you gonna join in on this?" Cyclonio shouted to Zealon, wondering if he was going to join in on the group hug. Having finished his plea, Zealon turned to the group, to see that they were all huddled around Medusa. "You bet!" Zealon said in response, running to the group and joining in on the hug.

Epilogue: Goodbyes

A week had passed since the Battle for Elementalia had finally come to a close. The birds native to Elementalia, which had flown away from the island as a result of Death's attack, returned to their home, reuniting in a beautiful song. The oceans, once ravaged by the Hierophant, had returned to their calm states, the fishermen which once populated the waters also coming back. Northern Elementalia's beaches, having been turned to ice as a result of Gelida's interference, had finally thawed, welcoming Elementals from all over the land like how it once did all those years ago. In the fields of Elementalia, Judgement's deactivated body, still kneeling over the Star's final resting place, remained untouched to time, and it would stay that way, for a long, long time.

In the centre of Valoroso's main district, people were celebrating the names of the Outlaws of Elementalia, celebrating their sacrifice, their initiative to protect them from the test subjects which threatened their lives. All seemed well for the people of Elementalia. However, this victory was not without loss, all over Elementalia, people were also mourning the loss of the king, their families, their friends, all that they had lost as a result of Famine's attack. Elementalia was left with a victory, but at what cost?

Deep within the Abyss, Famine stood alone in their layer, defeated and in disbelief. Their army of elementals, each having the capability to destroy the entire island on their own, had been taken down as a result of Medusa and Stheno, former Chosen, now deemed traitors, as well as the rest of the Outlaws. Upon hearing this news, Death's distrust in not just Famine, but all of the remaining horsemen, only grew further. If their siblings were unable to destroy Terra, then what good were they to their father, or themselves? However, despite this, Famine pleaded for forgiveness, not from Kronos, or Death, or even the souls that they had taken in their attack. Instead, they asked that Conquest, their fallen sibling, their friend, for forgiveness, believing that they had failed them.

Kronos overlooked the Abyss, seeing the countless souls screaming in fear and anguish as a result of the attacks orchestrated by him through his four children. While Famine had succeeded in bringing Elementalia to its knees, what good was it if they were still able to recover from their attack? Famine had already destroyed themselves in their own grief, so attacking Famine was out of the picture. There was only one, true option, in Kronos' eyes, that could see through a victory for himself. If he wished to completely destroy this universe, then he would need to do it himself. Seeing a potential vessel, Kronos seized the opportunity, allowing a part of himself to shine through, and strike those chosen to guard the primordial crystals where they were most vulnerable.

Overlooking all of Elementalia, Zealon sat at the top of a mountain, being able to see the fruits of his hard labour finally flourish. He had given himself up for these people, the ones which he was led to believe were monsters, unfeeling and soulless, time after time, even managing to make a few friends along the way. However, he knew that, without the existence of The World, his physical form, he too, would be erased from this plain of reality. However, this time, there were no second chances. Despite this, however, Zealon remained happy, believing his goal of protecting Elementalia to have been complete. Having already said his goodbyes to his friends, Cyclonio, Terrano, Hydranian, Stheno, and lastly, Medusa, Zealon let out a sigh of relief as he felt his body slowly beginning to fade away. More and more, parts of his body turned to light, drifting away into the wind like embers. However, unlike the embers which were formed out of chaos and death, these embers represented hope, new life, second chances. In his final moments, Zealon looked at Elementalia one final time, before smiling.

THE END