DNK Moonbase
AlyakAm was locked back in her cell alongside Egroeg after she and Nerehc returned to Moonbase. "We don't have any idea how she escaped, Master Nerehc." Ininap said in her nervous tone. "We looked everywhere, we really did, b-but-"
"Yeah yeah yeah, take it easy, Stutters. It sounds like Medusa had something to do with it."
"A dark portal, to be precise." AlyakAm confirmed. "This petty fortress of scrap is nothing to even the simplest of a god's abilities."
"And what were you doing with that boy? Were you looking for one of the Thirteen Darknesses?"
"Yes, and I can safely assure you, you now have less of the quest to worry about."
"Then who was the Darkness in question?"
"Medusa says you don't need to know that, yet."
"Of course we don't. Ininap, I'm going back to the Posiverse. Cheren and Kayla said they might know where to look next. Let everyone know to watch out for Medusa." He began to walk away. "I should've expected her to look for loopholes in this deal…"
"Hm hm hm." AlyakAm chuckled.
Ininap turned to her curiously. "Eh he… What's so funny?"
"Nerehc is concerned for what conniving tricks Medusa has up her sleeve regarding this grand plan. He, like Medusa herself, is deceived into believing the latter is the mastermind. Her position is no greater than that of any of our father's 'associates.'"
"She is to our father what I am to AlyakAm." Egroeg commented. "Even I am smart enough to know this."
Ininap approached them. "You two know more about this prophecy than any of us, don't ya? Yer father knows… somehow, someway…"
"You are inferring what exactly?" AlyakAm asked.
"You know important answers." Ininap spoke seriously. "You can be a real big help to us. You can help us be prepared. You can help us save everyone."
"You are mistaken. There is no amount of preparing you could do and no way to save everyone. You can never comprehend what is to come."
"And you can? Are you two all right with what's going to happen? It won't affect you in any way?"
"…" Alyak took a minute to respond. "It doesn't matter if we are or not. And a weak person like you would only cower in a closet. If I decided to tell you, you would utterly give up and give in."
"I wouldn't. Not on my own… anyway…" Ininap turned away. "Not unless Nerehc does. I would follow where he thinks we should go. If he thought it was a losing battle… I would agree. If he thought we could win… I would let him use me as a shield if it would help him get there."
"You haven't a single speck of pride in your veins." Egroeg said. "What a pity. …" Alyak was staring at him. "What? I have more than she does."
"I'm not very smart or strong." Ininap stated. "Until I learn how to be… I'll trust Nerehc to guide me. Maybe you two should, too. Because it sounds like… you aren't sure what to do, either." She left the room.
EiznekCm House
Nerehc took a quick bath after returning home, and the wetness was still present in his hair by the time he was dressed. He went to his room and would enter the Posiverse through his dresser mirror to meet with Cheren again. He had laid his sword halfway in the mirror to keep the portal open for that reason. But Nerehc saw a different sword on his bed: it had a green hilt and was encased in a black sheath.
Nerehc picked up a note by the sword. It read, 500 years Karakura. Signed with a green crayon picture of a head with snake hair. Nerehc glared at her signature and focused on the sword, then took the Ocarina of Time out of his pocket. Medusa must know what they're going to do next.
En route to Sector JP
"So you think it's another clue?" Cheren asked. He, Nerehc, and MaKayla were flying to Japan in a S.C.A.M.P.E.R., which the former was piloting.
"Yep, Medusa must be on to us. I guess it's a good coincidence we were heading to Karakura, anyway."
"I don't think Medusa was talking about this Karakura Town." MaKayla replied. "When I was sucked into the Multiverse Portal, I landed in a different Karakura. The members of Sector JP were there, except they weren't Sector JP. It was an Original World."
"An Original World?" Nerehc repeated.
"Do you know about them?"
"The Moon Spirit Cresselia appeared and told us about them. And Lucifer mentioned that that's where the Darknesses come from."
"Then we really are on the right track."
"But why did you want to come to JP again?" Cheren asked MaKayla.
"Because if they have counterparts in Original Worlds, we could possibly use them to trace that universe again."
"Don't we have this sword to do that?" Nerehc asked. "Assuming you're right, of course."
"Yes, but I think Karin in particular would be suitable for the task at hand, given her position."
"What position?" asked Cheren.
"Oh, riiiight, she never told you!" Kayla cooed, pinching Cheren's cheek. "Well, you're in for a surprise."
At the moment, Sector JP's treehouse was taken over by monkeys, so the sector was forced to take refuge in a secret bunker in their local forest. A hatch on the ground opened to let the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. land in the underground hangar. The hangar turned dark when the hatch closed, so the trio entered a lit-up doorway to the hideout's living room. "Cherry Pie, welcome to the Secret Pad." Karin Kurosaki greeted with mock enthusiasm. Jinta and Ururu were seen playing games on a couch. "I don't suppose you're here to help us get those monkeys off our backs?"
"You're still having trouble with those apes?" Cheren chuckled. "I thought you would've called animal control by now."
"We tried to, but they have hypno beams at every entrance. Yuzu keeps getting hit and going Karate Mode."
"Unfortunately, we're here for a different matter." MaKayla said seriously. "I think it's time you revealed your secret, Karin."
"Secret?" Karin's brows twitched. Jinta and Ururu heard this and looked over.
"You have an affiliation with the Spirit Kids Next Door. Believe me, I have my sources, and I sensed the energy radiating from you during sector meetings."
Cheren and Nerehc raised a brow at Karin. She sighed. "Fine, but promise you two won't gasp and jump back in shock. Cheren, you remember that report I sent when we fought the Brotherhood leader a few months back?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I left out a little detail." Before their eyes, Karin FLASHED, and transformed into a ghost. She had a black robe, light-blue flames around her ankles, and a white aura around her body.
"YAAAH!" Cheren and Nerehc jumped back in shock.
"Ugh." Karin face-palmed. "S'yeah, the truth is I'm a Halfa – you know, like Danny Phantom. I do part-time work for the Spirit Kids Next Door, but I'm not allowed to use my powers against mortals. That's sorta why I never told you."
"I encounter the Spirit KND during my regular trips to the Spirit World." Kayla said. "I got the tip from them."
"What, is she in trouble or something?" Jinta questioned.
"No, but we need Karin for a project. As a matter of fact, her uniform will work perfectly for this mission."
"What're we doing, exactly?" Karin asked. She hadn't really expected any sort of mission today, let alone one regarding her powers.
"We're going to find one of the Thirteen Darknesses." Nerehc confirmed, holding up the unnamed sword.
"We'll explain on the way." Cheren said. "Our next stop is Gravity Falls."
Gravity Falls; Portal Chamber
The triangle machine was still active and spiraling its neon colors, the only light in this dark, ancient basement. Mabel, Grenda, and Candy were sitting on the floor, holding fishing rods that were cast into the portal. "I bet if I eat a Dimension Bass, it'll create a wormhole in my stomach, and I'll be able to eat 10,000 cheeseburgers without exploding!" Grenda exclaimed.
"I just wanna put it on my wall and hear it sing." Mabel said with an innocent smile. "But it might sing in some garbly, other-dimensionly language."
"Mabeeeel!" Dipper cried, entering the chamber with Cheren's group. "I told you not to go dimension-fishing in the Multiverse Portal!"
"Relax, Dipper! It's not like we're going to catch the Time-Space drain plug with our fishing poles. Oh, I caught something!" Mabel quickly reeled hers in. An ant the size of a dog flew out of the portal, nibbling the lure. "WHOA! That is one ugly dog!" The ant spat out the lure and crawled back up into the portal.
"Sigh. Anyway, we've been studying this portal ever since Wendy and MaKayla made it out." Dipper explained as he led them into the secret room. The Master Emerald was still sitting in its power station. "Look at this." He showed them a scanner machine with a computer attached to it. "According to the journals, this device was meant to scan people or objects and detect duplicates of them in the Original Worlds!"
"Really? Try to scan Karin." Cheren ordered.
"Sure. Stand in front of it." Karin stood a few feet from the tiny eye-size hole, which shone a red holographic scan that swept down and up her body.
"Parallel detected in Original World 'Karakura.' Directing to targeted destination."
They went to look at the portal. The arrow in the circle of symbols pointed at one of a flame. "So it can." MaKayla observed. "But I think the portal has another purpose: it can travel through time."
"IT CAN!" exclaimed Dipper, flipping open Journal 2. He lit the purple light and showed invisible ink. "'While the portal can target specific universes, it seems that it drops me off at certain points in Time in those universes. Bill and I have built a device for an object called the 'Ocarina of Time,' which he says can be used to target specific times. But the ocarina in question has been lost for-'" He looked up when Nerehc held up the instrument.
"Not anymore."
There was a machine on the left of the main panel with a small, square-shaped glass cabinet. It was perfectly fit for the ocarina's size. Fi leapt out and said, "Master Cheren, I can use my telepathy and command the ocarina to transport the user 500 years in the past. Based on the structure of this device, there is a 70% chance that the vast chronokinetic energy contained in the ocarina will be transferred to the Multiverse Portal. This will, in turn, enable the portal to warp people and objects to the respective time date within the specified dimension."
"Sounds like a 70% worth chancing." With that, Nerehc performed the Song of Time, joined by Fi's marvelous vocals. When the ocarina began to glow, they set it inside the cabinet and shut it. It shone a bright blue light, and the energy transferred along the cords to the portal. The machine shone blue, as did the spiraling portal. Mabel, Grenda, and Candy shut their eyes from the blinding light and ceased their fishing.
"This must be it!" MaKayla exclaimed. "Karin, now's your chance, go in! Eventually, the portal should call you back."
"But I don't even know what I'm looking for!"
"You're finding one of the Thirteen Darknesses. His name is Aizen. You need to take him to the dungeons and find a stone pyramid."
"How do you know these things?"
"Because I was here before! This is based on the information I picked up."
"First we'll make sure the Darkness's location is on the dot!" Nerehc ran up to the scanner and presented the sheathed sword to it. The machine detected the sword's original location, and the destination of Dimension Karakura didn't change.
Karin faced the portal with nervousness in her heart. She took a breath to relieve this feeling, then transformed into a ghost. She flew headfirst into the portal and whisked across the Sea of Worlds. There were bubbles with images of a white-haired man, a strong man with a cocky grin, and a creature Karin recognized as a Hollow. She was nearly dizzied by the images in the Dimensional Byway before a great white light engulfed her.
Sometime later...
"Heads up, girls! Mabel's got herself a ringer!" Mabel exclaimed, standing firm as she reeled her fishing rod with gusto. "We are gonna EAT tonight!"
None other than Karin flew out of the portal. "PLEH!" She spat the lure out of her mouth. "Dammit, I'm not a fish!"
"We caught a ghost with a fishing pole!" Candy beamed. "Take THAT, Jack Fenton!"
"Karin, you made it back!" Cheren exclaimed. "What was it like? Did you meet the Darkness—did you find the pyramid?"
"Good, I think, and yes. I found Aizen like you said. He read the Gibberish Pyramid and then darkness flew inside him."
"That about sums it up." Nerehc said. "You guys were right, then. The Darknesses really are through this portal."
MaKayla approached it, staring at the swirly vortex. "But why? The Original Worlds were said to be secluded from our dimensional plane. According to legend, the gods designed this universe from what existed in those universes. So why are the Darknesses in those worlds? Who would've decided this?"
"The only thing we can do now is find them." affirmed Nerehc. "Cheren, you and your pals focus on getting the Lights. Me and my operatives will keep using this portal to find the Darknesses. I may have to rely on Medusa to send me more artifacts."
"But what about the ocarina? You won't be able to target the dates without Fi."
"So leave Fi here."
"Ghh!" Cheren flinched. He took out his sword and held it aloft. "Can I do that?"
Fi jumped out. "Master Cheren, in the same manner that I was commanded to guide Sector V to Solana, I can remain in this chamber if you so need me to. If my advice is not needed, you may take the Master Sword whilst I remain and obey the requests of Not-Master Nerehc. If it is your desire, let it be so."
Cheren hesitated to answer. Fi's advice was helpful, whether or not it's needed most of the time… Without her spirit in the sword, he would feel a tad lonely. But for the sake of finding all the Keys… "Okay, Fi. Stay here and do whatever Nerehc tells you."
"Understood, Master. I hope that we may reunite soon."
Cheren faced his Negative. "Bring her back as soon as you're done, got it?"
"Relax, man, I will." Nerehc smiled. "My sword's cooler, anyway."
"Ha ha… Well, good luck, you two." He, MaKayla, and Karin left the cave.
Fi turned to Nerehc and said, "Master's Wannabe Nerehc, I am at your command."
"Well, this is gonna be fun." He sighed in exhaust.
Somewhere in Europe; 96 years ago
The waves smashed against the cliffside on this gloomy, stormy day. A person's voice could roughly be heard down here. If someone were to fall into the raging sea, nobody would hear them scream. It was a sea that Davy Jones loved to sail.
It wasn't often that Davy Jones sailed this close to land, but he agreed to at the request of his new master. Negatar Gnaa stared at the cliffside as the Flying Dutchman drew close to it. "I cannot go any farther without alarming the town." Jones said. "Why did you wish to sail this way, Lord Gnaa?"
"I feel a voice calling to me." Gnaa said solemnly. "A voice… in the darkness."
"I, too, feel it, Master." Phantom Gnaa hissed, holding his master's shoulders. "Let us go."
The phantom carried Lord Gnaa across the waves and the rocks, and set him on a thin path along the cliffside. Lord Gnaa entered a cave where he felt the darkness emanate. It was very dark, and the only areas that had a hint of light were a dull gray. Tiny drips of water echoed across the dank cave. Gnaa's only guide was the darkness that called for him.
He found the source between a group of crystals that gave off a gray glow. It was a small boy of nine years old, with dark hair and dull clothes. He looked up at the figure with an arrow on his head. Negatar Gnaa stared at him blankly and spoke in a whisper, "Why are you down here?"
"I'm hiding." The boy said lowly.
"From who?"
"I'm hiding from the world. I don't belong in the world. The world… hates me."
"Why does the world hate you?"
"I can do things that others can't. I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who are mean to me. I can make them hurt."
"…I can do things that others can't as well." Gnaa said. "I can feel the darkness in people's hearts."
"Is that why you're down here?"
"I came down here because I felt the darkness in your heart. I can feel the darkness clouding you. I can feel it… becoming you. The world has given you pain. It has made you want the darkness."
"Then… what am I to do?"
"…Embrace the darkness. Welcome it. And it will always be with you. It will always help you…"
"Would the darkness… be my friend?" The boy stood. "Would it… talk to me?"
Phantom Gnaa rose from the ground before him, a body of black mist with glowing eyes. "Yes… it would…"
The boy looked down at his feet. His own shadow appeared to stretch away from him, acting on its own. When the boy looked up, the stranger was gone. He walked forward slowly, the sound of his footsteps mixed with the echoing droplets. The child looked right when another part of the cave glowed. Down the passage of crystals was a stone pyramid.
The boy approached the strange ruin. It must have sat in this cave for thousands of years. And yet, it looked so… clean. The cavern droplets did not wither away its text or its form. But some droplets seeped into the engraved letters and the eye on top. The crystals brimmed greater, giving everything in the cave a bright gray. They highlighted the pyramid's perfect form, and the letters clear enough for him to read.
The light shall fade… only darkness can live forever. Do not let yourself fade. Reject the light… Rejoice the darkness…
The dark aura from the pyramid flew into the boy's body. He understood the text's meaning… he let it sink into his mind.
Tom Riddle awakened as a DARKNESS. Just 6 more to go.
The Flying Dutchman sailed away from the land, soon to be gone with the storm. "There should be a number of worthy shadowbending teachers in Britain. Many of the wizards and witches are-ah." Davy Jones said.
"I have already found a worthy teacher." Gnaa smirked. "Now it is a matter of…" he looked back and faced the cliff, "waiting."
Same cliff; present time (Play "Organization XIII" from Kingdom Hearts II.)
Ninety-six years later, waves were still mercilessly smashing against the cliffs. Some of the rocks had eroded away. Medusa stood on the edge and felt the forceful wind. Behind her, Baby Chernabog was asleep, kept warm by Pandora's flame. Medusa looked back at them for a moment, then faced the horizon. "Let me ask you something, Thanatos… When is a person most susceptible to the darkness?"
"The answer is obvious, Medusa!" said the snake on her shoulder. "It's when they are young!"
"Correct. A child is always most vulnerable to darkness. An undeveloped mind is an open mind. Even Firstborn like Jirachi can be easily fooled. That's why many of these Darknesses realize their destinies when they're young. And it is why, even as they have become adults, the light has never reached them. True, the Seven Lights can try to avoid the darkness all the same… but all that matters is destiny is truly set in stone. Then it's survival of the fittest."
Somewhere in the sky
The Man With the Red Eye sat with legs crossed, meditating in the gentle night breeze. He was floating 10,000 feet in the sky, but any fear of falling was meaningless to him. …The rapid pounding of a chopper's propeller broke the silence, and Red Eye opened his eye to see his Negaverse counterpart using a helicopter to fly level with him. The wind from the propeller nearly blew Red Eye away. "YOU REALLY DON'T LIKE KEEPING IT SUBTLE." he yelled.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTED TO MEET UP HERE!" Blue Eye shouted. "YOU KNOW I CAN'T FLY!"
"NO MATTER. OUR MEETING WILL COMMENCE AS SCHEDULED. SILENCIO." Red Eye cast a spell to mute the helicopter entirely. He remained afloat outside as he spoke to his Negative. "Sigh… now then: The date in which I had planned to meet my daughter is merely days away. And the dreaded Apocalypse we have long been preparing for is scheduled in half a month. It is almost terrifying how quickly time has passed."
"My sentiments exactly." Blue Eye agreed. His voice was a higher pitch of Red Eye's deep voice. "And your plan is to stage this meeting on a planet called Lunaria, correct?"
"That is true. After we have at long last become acquainted, I will teach Wendy everything I know, and she will join our cause. I plan for her to meet your daughter once again as well."
"I am sure Ydnew will be delighted to hear this… yet, I am concerned that it won't be the reunion you anticipate. Would your daughter accept your violent tendencies? What if she doesn't share your perspective? If she were to fear you?"
"I am positive she will understand my plight. I would not put it past her to feel resent for me, given my method in 'raising' her. But she will not hate me for long."
"So you say. I just advise you to be careful what you wish for. Since we are on the topic… when did you plan to attack the World Government?"
"I do not wish to create more panic while the Quest for Seven Lights is still taking place. And yet, I cannot expect the Leaders will sit idly by for much longer. Set a date for May 25. Or -25 Yam in your case."
"I will do just that. But next time… could we please meet on the ground?"
"Hm hm, very well." Red Eye smiled. The deafening chopper pounding returned when he dispelled the Silencio, watching as his Negative flew back to the earth. "Perhaps now would be a good time to speak to Dr. Facilier. I should get Arlon to prepare."
Gravity Falls; Portal Chamber
Mabel, Grenda, and Candy had fallen asleep after hours of Dimension Fishing. Dipper, being the night owl he was, had to be drugged with a dose of harmless Death Chi. With the four operatives out, Medusa and Thanatos could make their selves known. "You like to get in, get out without a trace, don't you?" Nerehc queried.
"It's not like I wanted to be scarce, it's just this dimension is more heavily watched." The goddess shrugged. "Except this room, for some reason. I brought the next two candidates for our mission."
Atnort and Annaira Eerfnud came behind her. Medusa approached one of the connecting devices, which contained the blue glowing cube known as the Tesseract. "So, this is the device Bill Cipher used to help power the portal. But it isn't from this world, either." She took the Tesseract out of its station and held it before the scanner.
"Original counterpart detected. Changing destination to: Dimension Marvel-199999." The arrow pointed at a symbol of a slanted "A" with a circle around it.
Under Medusa's instruction, Nerehc played the Ocarina of Time, and Fi set it to transport seven years in the past. Atnort and Annaira stood before the spiraling portal as it shone blue. "In this universe, you will be searching for one of the most powerful Darknesses. A born conqueror, a true challenger of the gods… the Mad Titan, Thanos."
Marvel-199999; Sanctuary (Play "Hau'oli Hau'oli" from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep!)
"The Chitauri grow restless."
"Let them gird themselves. I will lead them into glorious battle."
"Battle? Against the meager might of Earth?"
"Glorious, not lengthy. If your force is as formidable as you claim."
He was donned with golden armor, entrusted with a scepter with a powerful blue gem as its core. We know this black-haired gentleman as Loki. Of course, these events were a little before the chaos on Birka. "You will have your war, Asgardian." An ancient, hooded being who sounded like Emperor Palpatine stated. "If you fail… if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as death."
"I shall not fail." Loki assured. "With the power of this scepter, even the most vile, hulking figure cannot crush me."
Earth
"Achoo!" Bruce Banner sneezed.
"Bless you, Dr. Banner." Nick Fury said.
"Thank you."
Sanctuary
"See that you don't." The Other said as a bright light flashed in the starry sky. "Once the Tesseract is in your possession, you are to-"
"AAAAAHH- UH!" Two beings crashed on the ground between The Other and Loki. A girl with purple skin and green hair, and a boy with green skin and magenta hair.
"They couldn't have programmed the Multiverse Portal to drop us closer to the ground?!" Atnort complained.
"YOU'RE the one who wanted to jump in without a second's thought!" Annaira argued.
"IMPUDENT VERMIN!" The Other's elderly voice thundered.
"It's your problem, not mine." Loki remarked before leaving.
"How DARE you little heathens intrude upon Lord Thanos' sacred ground with naught a hint of repentance!"
"What are you talking about?" Atnort asked, looking around. "I don't see anybody but some old ghoul with bad breath!"
"Enough." A deep, commanding voice echoed. They faced the giant throne that was hovered above their asteroid. It turned, revealing the giant with purple skin, golden armor, and a muscular build. He had bright blue eyes. "When children come idly shrieking into my domain… they must bow before he whom they have intruded upon… or be given severe discipline."
"Talk like a normal person, why don't ya."
"Shall I cut off your tongue?!" Other shouted.
"Wait!" Anna yelped. "Are you… Thanos?"
"You have nerve to question my name, without providing your own. State your names and where you hail from." Thanos ordered.
The siblings exchanged glances. "I'm Annaira Eerfnud. This is my brother, Atnort Eerfnud. We're from the Negaverse—the Earolf Galaxy."
"Negaverse… Earolf… These places are unfamiliar to me. And your species… Is it Zehoberei?"
"We're Zehoberei if you want us to be." Atnort joked.
Thanos smirked, showing his large teeth. "Congratulations, Atnort and Annaira. You are now children of Thanos!"
"Since when?!"
"Since you were born. You will serve me from this moment forward. Within the next few years, I will train you to become world-conquering machines, matched only by your fellow assassins. Gamora… Nebula… come to Papa."
The kids heard footsteps and turned. A woman with black hair, green skin, and black attire, along with a blue-skinned woman with a bald head and cybernetic features approached them. "These two are Atnort and Annaira. They are your little siblings. So, as their big sisters, you two must set the example."
"Might we inquire as to how they were bred?" Gamora asked acerbically.
"The same as you, I would be certain." Thanos smirked maliciously. "Well… Now that the family is all here, why don't we play a game? There is an ancient Asgardian temple five parsecs from here. Inside is an item that I want. A special gauntlet, if you will. Heavily fortified… with monsters so ferocious, the Asgardians dare not venture into its depths. My girls, you will lead your new siblings into the temple. Brave the traps and return to me with the gauntlet. Gamora… you will take Atnort. And Nebula, you will take Annaira. Your squads will compete against each other, and the one to retrieve the gauntlet… will earn Daddy's praise."
"And the one who does not?" Nebula asked with a voice that sounded like Medusa (Cree Summer).
"It would seem I have been too lenient with them. Do I make myself clear? Then take your brethren and prepare yourselves."
"We didn't come here to play some game!" Atnort yelled. "We came here to find you! You're one of the Thirteen Darknesses, so you have to-"
"SILENCE! I will not tolerate insolence. Forget who you were and where you came from… because from this moment forward, you are children of Thanos. Do as I say and bring me the gauntlet! Or you will know true pain…"
Gamora grabbed Atnort's arm. "Come." She led the younger green-skinned alien away.
As Nebula guided Annaira in the opposite direction, the latter reflected on her name… literally. "Nebula… Aluben…"
"Do not mumble, speak up!" Nebula ordered.
"Oh, of course!" Anna gasped to attention. "You'd like that, wouldn't you…"
Watching his children leave, Thanos sighed and relaxed on his throne. "Do you really believe these offspring will bring the Infinity Gauntlet without strife?" The Other questioned.
"No… Of course there will be strife. But that's why… I love them…" Thanos smiled.
His phone rang. Frowning, Thanos grabbed it from his pocket. He clicked the holo-projection to show Ronan the Accuser's face. "THANOS! This verminous Xandarian couple is talking over the movie! SEND your minions to DESTROY Nova Cinema 199999 at once!" He hung up.
"Ugh… Speaking of pouty children." Thanos sighed.
Gamora's ship, moments later
"The Asgardian temple has two entrances that we know of." Gamora explained as she piloted the craft. There were robotic aliens called Chitauri operating the controls. "I planned to take the bottom entrance. I also have Chitauri spies planted on Nebula's ship to slow them down. Of course, I didn't plan on a little brat slowing me down."
"Hang on a minute!" Atnort spoke up. "I may be a lightningbender, but this is going too fast even for me! First off, I didn't agree to sign up for this treasure hunt, and second, if we're both after the same thing for the same guy, then why are we fighting the other guys?!"
"Because Thanos enjoys it when his children fight for his affection. I'd advise you to get used to it."
"Pfft, yeah right. As soon as that portal calls us back, I'm jumping in faster than a Lightning Comet."
"You have quite the mouth for an offspring." Gamora remarked. "What do you have to contribute?"
"I'm a lightningbender." He pointed at his electrified antenna. "My chi paths got a little messy a few months ago, so I've been forced to take baby steps… If you wanna let the jokes fly in."
"Do you mean to say you possess the power of lightning? Perhaps you will be useful."
Nebula's ship
"You're able to control lifeforms via the blood in their veins?" Nebula replied to Annaira's description on her powers. "With power like that, we can easily crush Gamora and your brother."
"If it were that easy, I would've crushed him already." Anna said. "So… Nebula… what kind of man is Thanos?"
"What kind of man is Thanos? I thought you would've at least known he isn't a human before you appeared in Sanctuary. Honestly, what creature in the universe doesn't know who Thanos is?"
"A creature not from the universe!" Anna chortled.
"Save your humor for after we've won. There's the temple." They were approaching a massive, dark structure in the middle of space. Giant asteroids surrounded the region and made it impossible for stars to be seen. Nebula glanced down and noticed the ship floating under the asteroids to the bottom of the temple. "Right on cue. It's time to give my sister a little surprise."
"What do you mean?"
"I had my Chitauri plant a bomb in their ship. With a push of the button," Nebula held her finger above a red button on the control deck, "it'll stop them before she even has a chance!"
"RAAAH!" Two Chitauri jumped over and lashed blades at Nebula, but she was quick to flip over them and shoot them through the heads with a ray gun. Other Chitauri were clashing with each other, and when one of them shot its gun at Nebula, she ducked, causing the laser to destroy the detonator. "So, my sister hired a bunch of double-crossers to get the jump on me first?! Well, the joke's on her, because now the bomb is set to explode in 30 seconds!"
Gamora's ship
Beep…beep…
Atnort's antenna picked up a sound. "Do you hear that?"
"What?" Gamora asked.
Atnort bent over a hatch on the floor and zapped lightning around the edges to detach it. There was a bomb with a timer. "It's a bomb!"
"A bomb?!" Gamora whipped around. She set the ship to autopilot and tried to pick the device off its place. "It's attached to the ship, we need to get off!"
"No we don't—it's gonna blow when it hits zero, right? So we just need to stop the timer!" Atnort zapped a gentle ray of lightning from his antenna, sending a charge through the explosive until its timer blacked out. "I dealt with these all the time back in DNKG."
"I should've known Nebula would try something so shifty. Hmph… we must be on our guard. Put on your helmet. It's time to enter the temple. Chitauri Squadron A, stay here and try to get that bomb off. Squadron B, sabotage Nebula's ship."
"How do they tell each other apart?" Atnort asked.
"How should I know, they're just robot lizards."
Stage B-23: Dark Space
Mission: Get the Infinity Gauntlet!
Atnort leapt up a series of asteroid platforms, following Gamora's example as they made their way to the temple's bottom entrance. On one asteroid, they planned to jump and kick off a vertical asteroid to reach a higher one, but Asteroks (or Space Octoroks) coughed rocks at them to prevent this feat. Atnort could shoot lightning at the space squids, allowing them to accomplish their low-G Wall Jump. "I may need your powers here, too." Gamora cautioned as they faced a swarm of slow, small incoming asteroids. They made a great leap to a distant asteroid, during which Atnort shot lightning bolts at the small ones that threatened to bash their skulls. After making land, the two Wall Jumped up a series of far-apart asteroids that led straight into the temple entrance.
They had to keep Wall Jumping up a shaft before they could reach the floor of the temple hallway, the gravity still low. They faced a pit where meteors were constantly raining downward, so Atnort did the honors and performed a Zip Dash around them and crossed the pit. He pressed a switch that stopped the asteroids and allowed Gamora to leap across.
"So, do you and Annaira try to kill each other a lot?" Gamora asked while they proceeded.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Call it a hunch."
"Well yeah, we use each other to 'vent' a lot. If you came from a planet that had twice the population that it should have, it would make you pretty stressed out, too."
"I should be so lucky…"
They reached a ledge with a pad with a hammer icon, and the rest of this passage was set over a pit. Atnort used lightning to ignite the pad, and Gamora quickly hopped on a platform that rose up on their left. Other such platforms poked out of the walls and ceiling. Two of them blocked her path, so she told Atnort to stop powering. The pillars retracted, including hers, but she made the low-G leap off the platform, past the barricading pillars, then told Atnort to reactivate them so she could land on a new extracted pillar. The hall turned left, and the ledge she had to reach was blocked by ceiling pillars. When Atnort deactivated, Gamora made the jump—wall pillars from either side would've come out and crushed her had she delayed, but she made it. She pressed a switch that lowered a stairway of electric spheres within mechanical devices, and Atnort could Zip Dash up these spheres to get to her.
In fact, the next room was huge and full of Zip Dash Spheres. Many of them only pointed in certain directions, creating a complex maze for the lightningbender. So complex that I'm sure you wouldn't remember the path even if I wrote it down. It took Atnort 20 minutes to solve the maze, and during this time Gamora was playing Angry Space Birds on her holo-phone. Eventually, Atnort made it across and stepped on a switch that would extend a bridge for Gamora. "Why am I doing all the work here?" Atnort commented.
"It's not my fault this temple has puzzles that conveniently befit your powers."
With Nebula and Annaira
A Fatblin guarded the entrance to the temple, but when the overweight monster stabbed its spear, Nebula leapt above and kicked the spearhead off, afterwards kicking its weapon and shield away. Annaira used bloodbending to roll it into a Fatblin-size hole, which triggered the massive gate to open. They entered a room with several fountains spewing from the floor. There was a stone tablet with text in front of the next sealed door. Nebula's scanner translated the Asgardian text and read aloud, "'The chamber shall open to a dry floor.'"
"I guess we're allowed to keep the air wet." Anna used her waterbending to lift all the water off the floor and project a psychic barrier that would keep all the other water in the air. Holding so much water was a strain on herself, but she withstood it until the door opened. Nebula quickly ran in, and Anna let the water splash down before diving in the doorway herself.
"Annaira, look at this." Nebula was viewing a magic-projected screen on the wall. It showed Atnort and Gamora in a different passage.
"So I guess this is a security camera." Anna figured.
"Yes…" Nebula smirked at the square switch below the screen. "And this must be SECURITY!" She pressed it. (Play "Deep Space Battle" from Birth By Sleep!)
The door behind Atnort and Gamora sealed, and their hallway rumbled. "I think we tripped the wire!" The hall began to turn red with heat, and the aliens sweated. The two green-skins rushed down the hall, dodging the parts of floor that burst into flame. Gamora Wall Jumped across a lava river while Atnort used Zip Dash Spheres, falling tired after he did so. Gamora picked him up and jumped up a set of platforms over a lava pit, making it through a new door that sealed off the burning corridor.
"Phew… I guess you can't expect these traps to be as dumb as Anaidni Senoj." Atnort gasped for breath.
Gamora found a holo-screen that showed Nebula and Annaira viewing a similar screen. "And you can't expect your sister to play fairly!" She pressed the switch under that screen.
Anna and Nebula's hallway began to flood. Anna tried to bend it, but the water was unusually thick. "I'm not cleaning this floor." The two raced up the hall, dodging the waterfalls that poured in. A Bokoblin tried to attack them, but Anna grabbed it in bloodbending and brought it with her, then snatched a second Bokoblin. She stuck the two monsters into holes on either wall, twisting them like keys to open the gate. They had to cross a balance beam over rising thick water. Nebula ran across it with grace, but when she saw Annaira doing it in a slow, careful fashion, the assassin was forced to run back, pick up, and carry Anna to the exit.
They pressed another switch, dropping the floor in their rivals' next hallway. A storm of Zip Dash Spheres were flying at Atnort and Gamora. The latter dodged them expertly while Atnort used them to zip to the opposite side and press a switch, shutting them off and repairing the floor. Unfortunately, the ceiling began to close down, so Gamora was forced to dash, sliding under the last few inches of space and escaping through the door.
Gamora pressed a switch, turning her sister's hallway into a mirage zone. The hall consisted of numerous forks, where one of them appeared normal, but would lead them into a pit of lava. Annaira was about to run into a pit- "GET BACK!" Nebula grabbed her before she did. "My scanner can see through the mirage! Follow me!" The right directions were left, right, right, and left.
Nebula found another monitor—Gamora found another monitor. Gamora was seen getting ready to trigger another trap—Nebula was going to set another trap. They both raised fingers to press the buttons—
Annaira sliced theirs with a Water Slice and Atnort destroyed theirs with lightning. "ARE YOU INSANE?!" Nebula bellowed. "Do you WANT them to get the upper hand?!"
"I thought we were here to get a gauntlet, not try to kill each other! We're not making any progress."
"They were about to trap us!"
Anna and Nebula looked around and waited a moment. "…Or perhaps not." (End song.)
With Atnort
"Hm… I guess she feels the same." Atnort observed.
"Fine, I'll stop." Gamora complied. "But for the record, we made faster progress running from their traps."
The two proceeded up a flight of stairs, with tiny lines in the wall providing light. "I've been in this galaxy for almost an hour, and it's just as crazy as my homeworld! How do you live with a father that MAKES his kids fight each other?!" Atnort questioned.
"Thanos is NOT our father." Gamora affirmed. "To him, 'children' is another word for weapons. He is a murderer and a monster. He killed every last member of my species, he killed my parents in front of me. Whether it's women, elders, children, infants… Thanos will slaughter anyone he desires in order to achieve dominion."
Atnort needed a moment to process that shocking response. "…Yeah, I didn't think any woman would be brave enough to get in bed with him. Did the same thing happen to Nebula?"
"I think her family was killed, but I don't know more than that. It doesn't matter. Thanos doesn't love us, nor do we love each other. We're weapons now. It won't be long before you and Annaira will be hating each other."
"We're not staying. We're jumping ship the second we have a chance to."
"And how do you plan to do that? Because Thanos will find you. He'll kill millions to ensure you are captured and punished."
"Trust me, we're going to escape." I really hope that portal calls us back now.
"Hm. If your words held meaning, I would like to come with you."
Atnort bit his lip. "I… don't think you can do that."
"Why not?"
"Because we-" Atnort tripped on a slanted force and fell on it before pushing off and standing straight. "Huh?" A huge stone pyramid towered over them, and a golden gauntlet was floating above it.
Annaira and Nebula gazed at the massive ruin from across the great vacant chamber. The pyramid only seemed to grow as they stepped forward. Based on the stories from Nerehc's friends, this Pyrameglyph was a lot bigger than the other ones. Annaira saw Nebula using her scanner on the alien writing. "It won't translate." Anna knew.
"My scanner is programmed with eight billion different languages, even a simple ruin like this… is unknown." The scanner failed. "Hm… Well, what does it matter. That must be the gauntlet Father desires. Let's get it down before Gamora arrives."
"Too late, Sister." Gamora and Atnort walked out from behind the pyramid.
"Yeah, we found the gauntlet first!" Atnort asserted.
"You two took a lousy shortcut!" Anna argued.
"Shortcut my ass! I was stuck in that shock sphere room for 20 minutes! WE get the giant gauntlet!"
"Will both of you shut up and think for a second?" Gamora cut in. "How are we expected to carry such a large item to Father? We will never be able to bring it to either of our ships if we are at war with each other."
"Don't play the Moral Game with me, Sister." Nebula hissed. "You have always been Father's favorite child, and you crave his praise! But I will not let you have it, you parentless whore!"
"SOULLESS WITCH!" Gamora punched Nebula in the jaw—the sister flipped behind and grabbed Gamora by the neck, choking her until Gamora grabbed a knife from her pocket and cut Nebula's waist. They swung swift kicks at the other before Gamora rolled behind, grabbed Nebula, and kicked her against the Pyrameglyph. She was dizzied by the impact, but she extracted long metal claws and swiped them at Gamora, who dodged and grabbed both Nebula's wrists, only for the latter to kick up at her face.
Atnort and Annaira exchanged looks. "So if this is an Original World, is this where the Negaverse gets it?" the former asked.
The ceiling of the temple blew open, interrupting the fight. A squad of Chitauri flew in, accompanied by Thanos on his throne. "It's so wonderful to see my children playing." Thanos smiled with malice. "Oh, don't let me intervene. I merely wanted to observe my girls bonding. After all… the game is not over." He looked up at the gauntlet. "The Infinity Gauntlet is right there. Which child will be the first to bring it to me? Nebula? …Gamora? …Or, how about you two?" He faced down at Atnort and Anna. "New children of Thanos… FIGHT, and prove which one is superior!"
Atnort looked at his sister, then to Gamora, before facing up at Thanos. He grit his teeth. "I'd rather fight the lazy fat guy in the floating CHAIR!" He shot a beam of lightning from his antenna. It was small and merely tickled the nose of Thanos. When it stopped, the lord's nose twitched. Atnort shot lightning from his hands, but it came in weak doses. He kept trying until- "Ow!" He fell to his knees. "My chi paths hurt… I had to use the Zip Dash too much."
Thanos dropped out of his throne, shaking the floor. He was three times taller than a human adult and very intimidating. He approached Atnort, but Annaira jumped in front, aimed her open hands, bent the fingers, and twisted the wrists different ways. She seemed to be clutching hard at an invisible force. Thanos cocked a brow. "What are you doing?"
"…Um…" A sweatdrop rolled down Anna's face. "Do you have blood?"
"Heh heh heh." Thanos smirked, showing his rotten teeth. "Gods do not bleed." He faced Gamora and Nebula. "Well? Is no one going to get the gauntlet?" Back to the Eerfnuds. "No? Fine." He approached the pyramid. "I'll do it myself."
The Mad Titan climbed the pyramid and claimed the golden gauntlet. It fit perfectly over his left hand. He balled his fist and viewed the knuckles, noting its empty spaces. "It feels… empty. But not for long… Soon, the Infinity Stones will be mine, and I will control reality!" He raised his fist above the tip of the pyramid and SMASHED!!
The impact of the Infinity Gauntlet to the unbreakable stone created a powerful shockwave that shook the entire temple. The others could barely keep on their feet and the temple started to crumble. Anna helped Atnort dodge the falling rock chunks, and when Thanos' daughters tried to do the same, a huge chunk crushed Nebula's left arm.
"ACK!" Nebula struggled to push the boulder off. "Father! I am trapped!"
"Nebula!" Gamora rushed to her.
"NO, Gamora!" Thanos roared. "Do not pity the weak!"
Gamora faced Nebula, trapped in a moral dilemma. However, the blue-skinned sister raised her knife and chopped the pinned arm off. "AAAAAH!"
A bright light flashed in the sky, and a ray struck the floor of the already-crumbling temple. Annaira hesitated, for Thanos had not read the Pyrameglyph, yet. But she looked at her weakened brother once more, and when the floor was seeing its last moments, Anna lifted Atnort up and jumped into the portal, returning to their universe's Posiverse.
After the temple was gone and the sisters escaped, Thanos stood on the one remaining platform before the Pyrameglyph.
O Supreme Being of the Universe… Seek the power that you long for… Become invincible… Become a god.
Thanos smirked at the very inspiring message. A dark aura flew from the pyramid into his mighty body. He was ready to seek the Infinity Stones.
Thanos awakened as a DARKNESS. Only 5 more to go.
The Mad Titan looked up at the sky, pondering over the beam of light that took his new children away. "Hmm… Even the boundaries of dimensions… are nothing to the power of Thanos. I will find you again, my children… and destroy all that you cherish."
Portal Chamber
"You know, there was something about Thanos' name that struck me as familiar." Thanatos said. "Do you know what that could be, Medusa?"
"Oh, Thannypoo." Medusa scratched the snake's chin. "Do you ever get tired of being a jokester?"
Nerehc, Fi, and the gods looked as Annaira fell out of the portal with Atnort's arm around her head. "Did you do it?" Nerehc asked.
"We… kinda left before we saw him read it." Atnort replied.
"Rest assured, he did read it." Medusa assured. "You did a fine job, you two."
"How? We didn't even guide him to it, and his daughters would've found the pyramid, anyway." Annaira reasoned.
"I just wanted to give you a preview." Medusa smirked. "Thanos is, without a doubt, the most powerful being in that universe. And when the Infinity Stones fall into his grasp… well, by God, even I am afraid!"
"She won't even get in bed with him!" Thanatos remarked.
Medusa glared and gripped his neck. "Anyway, I'll come back later with your next mission. Rest up, kiddies. You know what you're up against." She vanished in a Dark Portal.
"Hm… Was Thanos really as powerful as she says?" Nerehc asked.
"He really just sat on a chair most of the time." Atnort said. "But he's got a hell of a way raising kids. Speaking of which… why did you save me, Anna?"
"Stupid Atnort. You're my brother, aren't you? Someone needs to make sure you don't lightningbend irrepressibly."
"Yeah, well… you have weird-looking boogers."
"At least all I have to do is one swift motion of the hand and waterbend them out. Yours just sticks with static electricity."
"You just be careful what you touch when we get home." The two giggled.
"Awwww." Nerehc smiled. "They really do love each other."
Ghirahim smiled at the readers and winked.
"Still… do you think we should've brought those two with us?" Atnort asked.
"Why the hell would we? Those two were insane!"
"So are we, Anna! Don't you think they would've behaved a bit differently if we… got them away from Thanos?"
"I doubt it." Annaira looked away with a frown. "After all… I still want Aluben back."
"…I do, too… but compared to Thanos, Aluben is alright to be around."