MAY 2nd
Khandejifer drifted through the echoing
walls of time and space. It was in his blood to fight, conquer and destroy
all that stood between him and his prize! He couldn't believe that Desutoroia
had stripped him of his vengeance and actually risked everything to protect
Joseph Stefano, his arch nemesis. He continued to linger between dimensions
in meditation until he finally reached his destination, the outskirts of
the Parapa Desert of Misery. Khandejifer's last journey to this ancient
area would have been impossible without the well crafted artifact, Necromancer:
The Book of the Damned Dead. However, now that things had changed for
the better, the book was useless to him. His essence could be felt by the
members of the Kilokhan Clan as his spirit guided them to their target.
The terrain was rocky and troublesome
and the ground was mainly quicksand in most places. Many mountains stood
tall and proud in the Parapa lands. It was as if they were traveling through
a valley of death traps. The unbearable heat from the sun shining down
upon the ruthless clan wasn't helping much either. The desert was not the
greatest place to be.
"Our men... we are dying, my Lord!"
Thoglith pleaded to his master above. "We have not had sleep for many days
and our water is almost gone... What madness is this?" He stopped while
the rest of the Kilokhan Clan kept going, paying no mind to him. He looked
up to face his dreaded master although Khandejifer was not plainly visible.
Thoglith held out his arms and screamed in agonizing pain, gasping for
life with every breath he took. His eyes were bloodshot and full of insanity
as they bulged out of his head and began to swell. As he stood there, frozen
in position, the clouds above him turned dark and swirled into a whirlpool,
unleashing a fierce lightning bolt composed of negative energy. As the
bolt struck Thoglith's chest, the ground beneath his feet opened up, sealing
his fate. He screamed, swearing revenge as he fell into the abyss, never
to be heard from again.
Another bolt of negative charges struck
the ground and many auras of light came shining from all over. Sparks flew
from the rock and sand and fused together to form the shape of a man. Two
lightning bolts struck each other in the sky, forming a transparent helmet
that lowered onto his head. Khandejifer had taken on a physical form to
assist his Kilokhan Clan. The helmet he wore was black and made of thick
steel which surrounded his entire head. Khandejifer's eyes had no pupils
and were the color of blood, representing envy. His costume was none other
than a casual black cloak. The upper half of his body was completely visible
but just below the waist, everything remained transparent. Feet and legs
could not be seen, nor could the bottom of his cape and cloak. Just the
air inhabited that space.
"Question my commands and you will be
torn apart limb from limb, suffering the fate of annihilation similar to
our good comrade, Thoglith," Khandejifer commanded with a destructive look
on his sinful face. "Nor shall anyone question my diabolic judgment...
I did not summon us here to these lacking lands for petty games!" His followers
gasped as they stepped back from their malcontent leader. "As you all know,"
he continued with divine hatred in his voice, "I went to great lengths
to eliminate a futile part of myself! To eradicate a spreading disease
that was infesting me... To destroy my limited body, curing myself of that
wretched disease! Freeing me from the mind that held me prisoner! The one
thing that makes me different from the rest of the entire human race! With
my limitless powers of thought, I can see the world through anyone's eyes
and literally walk in another man's shoes, allowing me to have a better
understanding of this world than anyone presently alive! I can conceive
and comprehend so many things that would be impossible to even wonder about
as a mere human..." Khandejifer paused in his speech to look around
and observe his devoted followers. Everyone except Zorak realized that
their master had been driven to insanity because of his obsessive goal
to eradicate all organic life and mess with the mind of one individual,
Desutoroia. They could finally grasp the one thing they had failed to see
earlier: Khandejifer was placed on this Earth for a reason beyond killing
Desutoroia, to represent the evil within all of us and show the world man's
greed will only destroy himself. After all, everyone has the potential
to be good or evil.
"The point of it all? Humans, the worthless
creatures that are destroying this precious Earth... that are destroying
each other, are some of the most disgusting life forms I have ever encountered!
I tell you all this today because we are returning to the domain of evil!
To the ancient ruins where I performed the ritual that cured me of my defects
and imperfections to prove once and for all that only advanced, sentient
beings like myself should inhabit this widespread universe! To show humanity
what monsters and imperfect creatures they truly are in the eyes of whatever
God one chooses to believe in and worship!!!" Khandejifer turned away from
his deciples and faced the decimated area where the Lost Palace of Doom
had collapsed and sank during their last visit. He smiled, his eyes emitting
a strange aura of colors and his arms reached out. A mythical light encompassed
his body as he was transformed into a worm made of pure, negative energy.
He traveled deep beneath the surface of the desert and soon, a large crater
opened up in the ground. Slowly, the Lost Palace of Doom emerged, the towers
on top reaching for the skies as black smoke surrounded the undying fortress
of stone. Khandejifer's presence could be felt and seen all around. Even
those miles away in Monsterzeroville could faintly see the light surrounding
the Parapa Desert of Misery. The fortress was rebuilt and restored within
a matter of seconds, the inside reconstructed to suit him, something that
would have taken the ancient citizens of this land centuries, maybe even
millennia to complete.
"The Palace has been reactivated!" declared
the demonic voice of a god calling down from the heavens. The clouds swirled
together, forming Khandejifer's face which smiled with glee as his worshipers
entered the Lost Palace of Doom, now renamed Khandejifer's Citadel. It
was a vast stronghold for the mighty Kilokhan Clan! Khandejifer then took
on another physical formation just outside.
"Now I enter these hallowed halls a
conqueror... Yes..." He had reached out to his destiny and was on the verge
of the greatest victory in the history of mankind, one he felt his Kilokhan
Clan should be a part of.
'It was by destiny that the outer powers
had chosen me as the One...' Khandejifer thought to himself. 'Yes... If
only the people of Roostville could have witnessed my transpiring into
the next dimension, my ascension! I, Khandejifer, am now Master of the
Universe! The power fills me. The universe is within me! I am a part of
the cosmos which flows through me! Of what consequence are these people
now? This planet, these people. They are NOTHING to me! The universe is
power! Real, pure, unstoppable power! And I am that force! I am that will!
Desutoroia and the rest of this pitiful planet are no longer my equals...'
He stepped forward to look at the ancient sub-scriptures on the walls
of his stronghold. The hieroglyphics told the story of Roostville's past,
present and future. Khandejifer smiled. Being a collective core conscience
no longer infected with the limitations of human comprehension, the words
written in stone on the walls were no longer a mystery to him.
"I must possess all, or I possess nothing!"
He floated through the air, gliding over the the bottomless pit that
stood between him and the wall with the ancient markings. When he was an
arm's length away, he reached out his hand and touched a character representing
him and his role in Roostville's future. Khandejifer saw himself as the
king of kings, lord of lords, tyrant of tyrants. He knew what fate had
in store for him and it made his life worth living. When all the others
around him were dead and dying, he would still be around to shape the world
into his perfect vision. The hieroglyphic prophecies said that one day
the world would be purified to fit Khandejifer's vision and eradicated
of all imperfections.
"Purification is the key to our salvation!"
he ordered. "To be purified, we must rid our selves of these limited bodies
and evolve into more sentient gods!" The prophecies written on the walls
showed him his dream was close to reality, that it was inevitable for the
time being as one thing stood in his way: Desutoroia. As long as he remained
alive, Khandejifer's dream of purification would stay nothing more than
that.
"Desutoroia cannot be allowed to live
past this day!" Khandejifer declared. "His presence contaminates my destiny.
I will destroy him!" He clinched his fist which became engulfed by black
fire and floated his body downward to read the rest of the sub-scriptures
on the wall. They told the story of a great war to come that would later
be known as the War of the Cosmos; the fall of a mighty empire, the return
of the monster's master, the Outcast and the One World, the influence of
Ahriman, the awakening of the God's Shadow and the beginning of the end.
"If my plans succeed, these events shall
fail to happen," Khandejifer laughed. "And if I fail in my plans to purify
this world, then these are the events that shall fall into place! The War
of the Cosmos, the Outcast... the beginning of the end." He studied the
sub-scriptures some more and the ancient writings told of two possible
futures and that fate was undecided. There was a golden future where peace
and prosperity filled the land and a blackened one where destruction and
chaos was all that was left of this world.
"Looks like Desutoroia has a lot on
his plate for the future of his precious Earth!" Khandejifer laughed maniacally.
"Very well then, powers that be. If I fail to destroy Desutoroia and purify
the Earth, let these unfortunate events fall into place... But believe
me, once they have passed and failed, I will have immense power and the
dawn of my era shall begin!" Khandejifer leveled himself with the hieroglyph
of himself written eons ago by the ones called 'God'. His hand reached
out and he placed it on the face of the drawing representing himself in
the Prophecy of Roostville. As he held his hand on that spot, intervals
in the wall started to move around and shift as the wall transformed. The
hieroglyphics moved and the walls opened. Khandejifer smiled at seeing
a portrait of himself, standing above the dead and decaying bodies of Desutoroia,
Mephistophelian, Melkor and Ubergeek.
"What's this?!" he asked, startled.
Written around the border of the portrait was a message that read:
When the three spike backs fight,
and the space-demon comes, thus begins the Shadow of the Apocalypse.
When the King Dark Lord is replaced,
and the Lord is killed, the Shadow of the Apocalypse will arise.
When the two black dragons rise,
and the blue king is let loose, the Shadow of the Apocalypse will come.
When the guardian leader falls,
and the lady is sacrificed, the Shadow of the Apocalypse will fall back.
When the Dark Ages have fallen,
and the island is cleared, the Shadow of the Apocalypse will return.
When the island is left, and
the people scatter, the Shadow of the Apocalypse will strengthen.
If the island is destroyed, and
the people lose hope, the Shadow of the Apocalypse will win.
But if the people unite, and
their hope is forever, the Lord and the Lady will be united, and the light
will pour forth, and Shadow of the Apocalypse will die.
Thus is the Prophecy of Roostville.
"The Prophecy foretold the War of the
Anguirus Followers, the Attack of the Roostville Robots, Gamingboy replacing
Morgoth as Mayor, the Murder of Desutoroia, the awakening of the Black
Rodan, the rise of the Blue Devil, the conclusion of the duel with Apocalypse
and the disappearance of Roostville." Khandejifer was amazed. "It's been
a long time since I last heard from you. Who would have ever thought that
Mephistophelian's fate and mine would be interconnected by the same prophets?
There must be greater forces at work than Mephisto's masters, the Council
of Death and the Universal Dominator..." A long tentacle weapon with a
claw at the end covered Khandejifer's arm, becoming his weapon of choice.
He sent all of his power through the appendage, charging the claw and finally
unleashing a blast at the beloved portrait of himself, smashing it to pieces
and uncovering another hidden behind it. Three humanoid creatures stood
before the horizon as the sun was rising in the East.
"Three humanoids?!" Khandejifer remembered
the story Morgoth had told everyone only a few hours before the final fight
with Mephistophelian about the three aliens who crashed on our primitive
planet. They had used the Universal Bridge as an escape shuttle and were
responsible for the creation of the human race. In Morgoth's words, they
were the three aliens our people had come to know as GOD. Khandejifer wasn't
sure what to make of this. Using his limitless abilities, he reconstructed
the portrait of himself with a single thought and placed it over that of
the three men standing tall and proud. He was afraid of what it might hold,
afraid to step any further into the heavens...
"Mustn't let this talk of destinies
deter me from mine!" he decided. "I must occupy my mind with thoughts of
destroying Desutoroia once and for all! None of that other must happen!
I must prevail in my struggles! I will not be stripped of my victory this
time around!" Khandejifer used his powers to create a bridge over the pit
and touched the wall. He then glided back and looked up at the ancient
hieroglyphics above him and smiled.
"The day of reckoning can not come soon
enough! For when this game is over, I shall be known as Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end. Death and rebirth. I will be that which is,
which was and is yet to come. Now and forever until the end of time!" As
Khandejifer began to walk away from the Matrix wall that told the tales
of Roostville's past, present and future, he stepped onto a part of the
floor that went beneath the surface. His foot pressed down a button, activating
a key of some sort. Holes opened up in parts of the ceiling, allowing light
to shine down which made invisible writings appear. 'VIOLENJIGER' was written
in bold, ancient symbols. Khandejifer was startled to find that the writings
were dedicated to Desutoroia and his fate. The mysterious prophecy on the
floor only angered Khandejifer further.
"Now I know it be true! I must destroy
Desutoroia, or else the cost will be too high!" Xenomorph and Zorak found
their master staring down at the floor.
"Welcome, good Zorak, and you too, Xenomorph,"
Khandejifer greeted his underlings. "I can not allow the Theos Gaia to
be unleashed! Mephistophelian mustn't return! Desutoroia must be destroyed
finally! Ahriman and the Shadow of God must remain locked away forever!
We must purify this world, no matter the cost!" His might unleashed, he
changed from his physical form to an entity of pure negative energy and
power, swirling and twirling about.
"My Lord... We do not know of what you
speak!" Xenomorph politely noted. Khandejifer remained in his present state,
not speaking for a few moments but swirling around like a tornado before
striking the ground and reappearing with a new form.
"In those last seconds, years passed
inside of that twirling pool of energy. I, Lord Khandejifer, will purify
this Earth at the cost of all its innocent humanity. As I mentioned about
putting the people of Earth to the test, so we shall!" He used his mental
powers as a guide to build the ultimate weapon. Poisonous spores, infectious
viruses and venomous creatures lurked both around and inside the Lost Palace
of Doom. Khandejifer concentrated on melding all of those elements together
into one vast threat. Xenomorph, Zorak and Khandejifer found themselves
standing outside the Lost Palace of Doom and before them stood a massive
pod.
"I have created these spores... evil
little things. Nasty little critters! My goal is to launch these spores
into space in pods. Once there, at my will they will grow and ripen and
mutate into a world threatening virus... It would only be a matter of time
before they wiped out every single man, woman and child on the planet...
The ultimate test... If these human creatures are as pathetic as I believe,
Desutoroia will fail to stop this from happening!" With the snap of Khandejifer's
fingers, the spores levitated into the organic pods. He willed the pods
to blast off into the Earth's atmosphere and soon, into outer space.
"I suppose, given my eminent godhood,
these primitives should really be beneath my attention... Ah, still, no
score is too small to settle, I always say!"
*****
Desutoroia was sitting next to Jennifer
up on one of the high wooded hills, admiring the view and having a picnic
as they remembered Sauron. He placed his arm around her shoulder and they
smiled happily at each other. A faint sound came from behind them. Desutoroia
turned and saw something blasting off from somewhere in the Parapa Desert
of Misery. It looked like a shooting star but suddenly, he was overcome
with images and Khandejifer's laughter. The world being consumed by a great
plague... Desutoroia knew what was going to happen and could see through
Khandejifer's master scheme and into the future.
"A virus," he muttered to himself. "This
is genocide!"
Then came the sound of Khandejifer's
voice echoing in his ears. "My, my! How the tables have turned!" Desutoroia
could feel the overpowering darkness all around him. Khandejifer's maniacal
laughter was all he could hear in the back of his mind, taunting and disgracing
him.
"My weapon will cover the entire globe
and destroy the surface of this world. The human shall have never existed!"
Khandejifer's laugh continued to echo in Desutoroia's ear as everything
around him seemed to disappear.
"What's going on?" Jennifer asked, worried
about him.
"It's Khandejifer..." Desutoroia awakened
from his subconscious. "He... has a plan that could wipe out all of humanity!"
Jennifer didn't how to react. Was it all just some fantasy or fairy tale?
Something about the way Desutoroia was responding to the situation scared
her and he had a strange expression on his face that reminded her of Khandejifer.
It was the eyes! The eyes that led her deep within Desutoroia and at the
core she could see ever so perfectly... Khandejifer, in all his glory,
planted and beginning to grow inside of him. It was her greatest fear that
the man she loved would become a deranged monster like his darker side,
Khandejifer, and would betray her and turn against the world!
"How can you be sure?" she wanted to
know as she stared at the pods being fired into the sky.
"This is not the time for a debate,"
he replied as he kissed her one last time. "I want you to know... in case
I don't return... " She placed her finger over his lips as a sign to be
quiet.
"I know," she said. "I know." They began
to kiss, perhaps for the last time as Khandejifer watched from the dark
clouds above. Time itself seemed to stand still for Desutoroia and Jennifer
as they held each other tightly. Both of them could feel the evil of Khandejifer
roaming about but they continued to kiss passionately as the plants around
them turned black and died.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
Jennifer wondered.
"I wish against it," Desutoroia commanded.
"I cannot risk your life. This score is between Khandejifer and me. Dragging
someone into this would only make things more difficult. I am sorry but
I don't want to see you hurt anymore than I was." Khandejifer's future
was a grim one and Desutoroia realized it would take more than him alone
to stop the vile monstrosity that was prepared to decimate the entire plant
over a few lousy mistakes.
"You don't plan on facing him alone,
do you?"
"I would never do something that stupid,"
Desutoroia smiled. "Melkor and Ubergeek will fight with me to the bitter
end. This is not the first time we have cooperated on destroying the ever
popular forces of darkness!"
"Don't worry, Desu. We will see each
other again when this is all over," Jennifer assured him when she saw the
look of self doubt in his fabulous eyes.
"Not only for our sake but for the sake
of mankind, I pray that you are right..." Desutoroia got up and started
to run back to the city. Jennifer watched as he left her and a tear ran
down her face.
"When this is all over," Desutoroia
called back, no longer feeling the self doubt anymore, "we shall see each
other again on this spot. I promise!"
As he made his way to the city, he thought
back to the last thing Princess had said to him all those many months ago.
'Remember my words... Find new love in my absence...' He thought about
his first meeting with Jennifer and how things had grown since that day.
He had not failed Princess as he did find new love. Jennifer had shown
him so much. It was because of her that he had finally conquered his feelings
of self doubt that had been bestowed upon him ever since before his arrival
in Roostville. Life had at last begun to turn around for Desutoroia. No
longer would he look at things in such negative ways. Those days were over.
He had left Hell without anything worth living for but things were going
to be different from this day forward.
*****
"Through the skies and even on this
planet, it shall come down to this," Khandejifer gloated to himself, sitting
on his massive throne in his stronghold. "Desutoroia and I, face to face
and tooth to tooth. So shall you witness the genesis of your destruction!"
He floated off and found himself once again looking into the face of the
future in the thousands of sub-scriptures written all over the walls of
his Citadel. The fate of Roostville was within the hands of the beholder.
Khandejifer laughed, impressed by the thought.
"And carved into this lofty peak, where
tempests dwell... a noble birthplace. The birthplace of my perfected world!"
*****
Luckily for Desutoroia, Ubergeek, the
Spawn of Kenny and Melkor had some business to discuss concerning the end
of the Comedy and Tragedy murder case so finding them wasn't hard. They
were at Gamingboy's mansion but before being allowed in, Desutoroia had
to show his ID to Mario and convince him a thousand times he was good friends
with the Vice Mayor. Desutoroia took the the elevator to Gamingboy's office
on the highest floor of the oversized mansion.
"Desu?" Ubergeek wa surprised seeing
Desutoroia approaching down the hall. "What are you doing here?" Melkor
stood up as they met once again.
"We've fought side by side before. Now
I ask the both of you for your help again," Desutoroia said. "Khandejifer
has reactivated the Lost Palace of Doom in the Parapa Misery. I can say
that he is up to no good there." Ubergeek looked out the window toward
his precious Roostville.
"How do you know this isn't premature?"
he questioned Desutoroia's judgment. "How can we be sure about this?"
"He was right the last time, Ubergeek,"
Melkor reminded him. "When Khandejifer had first found the mighty fortress.
Quit hiding from your responsibility as a Guardian of Seatopia, and of
this Earth!" Melkor was right. He was hiding from his heritage. It was
easy to accept at first but after defeating Mephistophelian, Ubergeek wasn't
sure what his destiny truly was anymore. He had left Roostville and ever
since he returned and accused Desutoroia of being behind the Comedy and
Tragedy murders, he was acting less like himself and becoming more like
Gamingboy. Gamingboy would have no doubt called Desutoroia's statement
premature right on the spot without reviewing the facts.
"Very well," he decided. "I will see
if I can call the other Guardians to our aid!"
"We'll head to the Lost Palace while
you interconnect with the others," Melkor said. "C'mon, Des!" They left
the office as Ubergeek sat in his chair. He spun around to face outside
and see Roostville one last time before his departure. Ubergeek picked
up his phone and dialed an old friend's number.
"Hello, Miyako. It's someone you haven't
seen a while."
Melkor and Desutoroia had jogged the
two blocks to Morgoth's house. Unfortunately, he wasn't home but taking
care of business with the only other Dark Lord that remained, Saruman.
"He won't mind if we borrow it again,"
Melkor figured. "After all, this is a state of emergency!" They broke into
Morgoth's house and went to the backyard which seemed to go on for a miles
where his private helicopter was kept.
"I need one of these in my backyard,"
Desutoroia said. "Mine's twice as big."
"Funny," Melkor smiled. "But we haven't
time for any more jokes, I'm afraid. Save that for later when the battle
is over." Melkor hot-wired the chopper. "All aboard for the Parapa Misery."
Melkor seemed more in a joking mood himself than usual. Desutoroia thought
about the events that had taken place over the past few months: the birth
of Khandejifer, Sauron's killing spree, Jennifer. Desutoroia could feel
the end of it all was now at hand. All he had to do was prevail over Khandejifer
and stop the virus that would plague the world, killing millions,
contaminating the seas and destroying human life, chaos following in its
wake.
For the second time, Melkor and Desutoroia
found themselves caught in the storm of the Parapa Misery as they crossed
the vast desert regions.
"Losing altitude!" Melkor yelled! "And
fast!" Lightning bolts had struck the helicopter and sent it catapulting
into a whirling windstorm. "Last party of the summer so let's try and go
out with a bang, folks!" He tried to manitain control but to no avail and
crash landed on the far side of the mountain which stood between them and
Khandejifer's Citadel. Khandejifer dispatched his henchmen to the wreckage
sight and capture any survivors.
"Find them!" Xenomorph commanded. "Find
them if it's the last thing you do!"
The helicopter was smashed to pieces
and fire was spreading everywhere. Desutoroia and Melkor hid behind a large
boulder as they spied on Khandejifer's underlings searching the area.
"We better start to move before they
realize we're not dead..." Melkor suggested. Desutoroia agreed and they
started to cross the treacherous landscape towards Khandejifer's Citadel.
After traveling through a few caves
and far up the mountainside, it finally came into view, only about three
miles away. Seeing Khandejifer's Citadel sent a chill down Melkor's spine.
"Creepy," he said, sounding a bit scared.
"The landscape, the Palace... Khandejifer at its center... It reminds me
of the time I was allowed to see the future if I failed to destroy Apocalypse...
The entire world was in ruins like the Parapa Misery... and all that remained
besides a few of our people was Khandejifer at the core of his stronghold."
Melkor took a deep breath.
"Melkor... snap out of it!" Desutoroia
insisted. "This isn't going to be the end. I know it in my heart!" Melkor
was a little surprised at this statement.
'Did Desu just say something heroic?'
he wondered.
They snuck into the castle through a
side entrance they discovered while snooping around the place and
found themselves in a corridor with strange writings on the walls.
"Lets move before he knows we're here,"
Melkor suggested.
"Chances are he already knows," Desutoroia
replied. "But I don't think he's alerted his guards yet. I can feel it...
he wants us to get in!"
As they came to the end of the corridor,
they peeked out and saw some guards pacing around. Xenomorph entered the
room and then they saw Khandejifer. His body was covered by a metallic
cape that shined bright blue and around his head was a strange helmet with
a muzzle around his mouth. The length of his arms had also increased since
they had last seen him in a physical form.
"Sir," Xenomorph called out. "I regret
to inform you, my Lord, that we have failed to find Melkor and Desutoroia.
They survived the helicopter crash."
"Idiots!" Khandejifer shouted down at
his troops. "Pathetic lackeys! I enroll you with a simple task but even
that seems too difficult for you... Primitive organics! Next, they'll have
gotten into the fortress and none of you will even know until it's too
late to save your wretched skins!"
"Khan knows," Desutoroia whispered to
Melkor. "He knows we're inside and we're right here in this room to his
left... hiding on this hidden passageway."
"So why hasn't he told his men?"
"Khandejifer wants to make things more
interesting for himself," Desutoroia explained. Lord Khandejifer proceeded
to his throne room. Xenomorph, feeling rather pissed off at his master,
got out a cigarette to calm his nerves.
"What are you staring at? Get back to
work!" he shouted at the other guards.
"With pleasure!" called out two voices
from behind him. Xenomorph turned around, only to be punched square
in the face by both Desutoroia and Melkor. The cracking of his nose could
be heard by everyone as blood leaked out like a running tap. As Xenomorph
hit the floor, Khandejifer's guards and underlings came storming in! Desutoroia
and Melkor prepared for the biggest fight of their lives.
Meanwhile in Khandejifer's throne room,
he floated about. The entire room was pitch black with the only light coming
from the monitor screens where he could watch all that went on in his Citadel.
He smiled, watching Desutoroia and Melkor fighting but outnumbered with
the odds against them.
"This shall be the end for both of you
tragic figures. So heroic it's pathetic! My virus will destroy this world
and there is no one who can prevent it now!"
Melkor and Desutoroia were putting up
the battle of their lives, both fighting for the same thing but especially
Desutoroia. He was pure of heart and would never surrender! They let their
fists control them and confidently defeated anything that came their way.
Nothing would deter them from stopping Khandejifer.
"Go!" Melkor ordered. "Stop Khandejifer.
You're the only one... It's your destiny! Don't worry about me, I'll be
fine on my own!" Desutoroia stopped fighting and ran up the short flight
of stairs. He glared back one last time to see Melkor holding off Khandejifer's
men, putting up a good fight despite being outnumbered and outgunned. He
was strong and no Dark Lord could ever be overcome that easily!
"GO DESU!" he yelled again as the swarm
of guards became too great for him and he was consumed by the madness.
A stone door opened to reveal a dark tunnel. Desutoroia ran through and
found himself in a massive room. It was pitch black and nothing could be
seen until a light in the center of the room started flashing and a form
appeared. The light separated into multiple flames and lit candles that
were placed all around the room. Khandejifer, in metallic cape and muzzle,
floated down to face his brother, his weaker half.
"It all comes down to you and me. And
there came a hero who said, 'Hurt not the Earth. Nor the sea. Nor the trees.
Nor the very fabric of time! But the hero would not prevail!'"
"The quote is not complete, Khandejifer,"
Desutoroia pointed out. "I think it ends with, 'Nor would he surrender!'"
Khandejifer charged at his weaker self and fired a red beam at him. Desutoroia
leapt into the air and dodged the blast before springing into action. "You're
sick, Khandejifer..." he stated. "Your plan is genocide! I will not allow
you to destroy the Earth!"
"Destroy it?! This is not death, it's
a rebirth! A recreation for the world we've come to know!"
"You're mad, Khandejifer! Hatred and
malice can't begin to describe the evil flowing through your veins! You
sicken me!" Khandejifer fired another energy blast at Desutoroia and laughed.
"Hatred, malice, evil?! No, I do not
feel they are a part of me! When I was created, my destiny to destroy you
and purify this world was encoded into me... But I am your darker half
so maybe that does have something to do with it, after all! How grim!"
He raced at Desutoroia and his colossal claw came smashing down and wounding
him.
"I always figured you were some kind
of god," Desutoroia explained. "But why haven't I been destroyed then?
Why don't you just wish me out of existence?" Khandejifer launched his
own shadow at him. The blackness of it consumed Desutoroia, hurting him
even more.
"That would be cheating! Cheating is
for humans! I choose to fight... with honor! Now get up!" As Desutoroia
stood, weakened from Khandejifer's attacks, a sword was thrown to him.
What use would it be, he did not know.
"Honor? Where's the honor in killing
millions of innocent civilians? Explain that one, Khan!" There was a weird
shine in Khandejifer's eye as he grinned with satisfaction.
"Can you humans comprehend nothing?!"
Desutoroia got ready to strike his enemy and made peace with himself. Then
came the beeping sound and Khandejifer's attention was taken away from
him. Khandejifer floated up to view his monitor screens and saw a
Dragon, a Shiisa, a Phoenix, a Tortoise and a were-Goji attacking his Citadel
on the outside. Melkor, who was under heavy attack, could feel it also.
"He did it! Uber united the Guardians!"
Melkor shouted.
"NO!" Khandejifer screamed. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Desutoroia bounded at him as he wasn't ready for such a move. Khandejifer
tried to revert back into his pure form to ascend into his true self, a
core conscience without any physical properties but Desutoroia was too
fast for him. When Khandejifer was just in between physical and non-physical,
Desutoroia passed through and connected with his Yami. Time in the real
world stood still but Desutoroia's conscious was active and awake.
"What is this place?" he wondered as
he found himself standing in the middle of a universe made up of nothing.
Around him were moving images; scenes from the past, present and future.
They were moving so fast it was like a slot machine and Desutoroia couldn't
make them out. "Is this Khandejifer's mind?" Desutoroia closed his eyes
and focused. He sat with his legs crossed in the middle of nowhere as the
images collided with him. As he searched within himself, he realized he
was indeed trapped within the realm of Khandejifer's mind. It was evident
how to stop his virus from wiping out civilization. Desutoroia reached
out his hand while concentrating very hard. It seemed to pass through Khandejifer's
mind and be elsewhere. Desutoroia used all of his willpower to annihilate
the virus just before it entered Earth's atmosphere, just as Khandejifer
had used his powers to create it. All the images stopped on the exact same
one of Khandejifer and fell apart like shattered glass. Desutoroia was
then thrown from Khandejifer's mind and back to the throne room of his
Citadel. Khandejifer's shape and form became a new one and all that remained
the same was his face. The rest of his body was covered by a fierce armor,
red like blood. His left arm was replaced by the head of a dragon and spreading
from his spine were long, fine wings. A long purple cape covered
his back. A long tail with two devil horns at the end of it formed on Khandejifer's
battle helmet.
"What's the matter, Khandejifer?! Letting
a few pests get the best of you?!" Khandejifer faced Desutoroia with a
look of confidence and glory on his face as he raised the dragon head at
the enemy!
"You haven't won yet, Desutoroia! I
congratulate you on stopping the virus. You've passed the test!" He was
hiding what he truly felt. A mere human was able to tap into his complex
conscience and destroy an entire spreading virus in the Earth's atmosphere?
Any other way of disposing of it would have proved futile. Khandejifer
was astonished.
'Perhaps humans aren't such pathetic
creatures as I had originally thought,' he figured. Khandejifer flew down
at Desutoroia for the attack. He fought back, using the sword he had been
given. The powerful blade clashed with Khandejifer's dragon fist like the
worst of foes! Khandejifer pulled his arm back and let it fly forward as
fire shot from the mouth. He laughed at Desutoroia's struggle.
Boom! The sounds of Ubergeek and the
Guardians marching through the Citadel could be heard from miles away.
"You were able to get into my core and
destroy my virus... But you... you won't destroy me!" Khandejifer yelled
after his fleeing foe. At the last second, Desutoroia spun around and held
his sword forward to clash with the passing Khandejifer, cutting him badly.
"This ends here, Khandejifer!" he said.
"I am not about to sacrifice myself for your insane ambitions!!!"
"You... You! You couldn't even begin
to comprehend!" Khandejifer commanded. Desutoroia noticed there was a sense
of compassion in his voice. "I... I can do anything I please! I have walked
in other's shoes! I can view the world from anyone's eyes... See things
from anyone's point of view. Understand them like no other can! Through
this, I actually understand the overall MEANING of LIFE! I am a GOD!" Desutoroia
finally realized Khandejifer's goal for a purified world was a quest for
a peaceful one.
"Khan... you're going about this all
the wrong way!" he said, understanding.
"There is no wrong! I have my views
and you have yours!" Khandejifer flew up into the air and circled above.
"The sub-scriptures... they say that one day my vision will become a reality!
All that stands between me and destiny, Desutoroia... is you! You and you
alone are the one thing... the only thing that can stand in my way! And
if you stop me, Desu, you will suffer the consequences of an even worse
fate! The sub-scriptures have seen all! The dawn of time, the end of time!
The Great Eye of the Cosmos commands this!" Khandejifer gloated at his
portrait. "I am the Alpha and the Omega! Death and rebirth! And as you
die so shall I be reborn again!" Khandejifer howled as he threw down a
sharp spear at Desutoroia.
From the outside of Khandejifer's vast
Citadel came a gigantic explosion, blowing open a colossal hole in the
wall, allowing free passage to the throne room where he was fighting Desutoroia.
Another gargantuan explosion came from the entrance, blowing down the door
and in stepped Melkor and Miyako Aso. Yuri and Ancalagon in their Guardian
beast forms flew in the sky above, blasting at the fortress while Ubergeek
and Catbert held off the Kilokhan Clan along the corridors.
"Come on, Desutoroia!" Melkor called
as the ceiling began to collapse. "The Guardians are destroying this place...
we're going to make sure it stays down this time!"
"But what about Khandejifer?" Desutoroia
said with fury in his eyes and voice.
"No time!"
"Neeahhhhhhhhhh!" Khandejifer howled
like a wicked beast as he let loose a hell blast upon the two Guardians
flying above his fortress. "Melkor's right! Desu, I will see you in Hell!"
Desutoroia tried to take a swing at Khandejifer with his sword but the
tyrant had vanished.
"Come on, lets move!" Melkor and Miyako
in were-Goji form escorted Desutoroia outside while the Guardians, led
by Ubergeek destroyed Khandejifer's Citadel. Never again would the power
of the Pyramid of Darkness be used upon the world.
"Khandejifer got away!" Desutoroia exclaimed.
"I was so close to ending our rivalry!" A gargantuan tortoise came down
and transformed into Ubergeek.
"Have any idea where he'd go next?"
the Geekspawn asked. "Or anyone he might want to go after?"
"There is someone..." Desutoroia said.
"Jennifer!"
"Ubergeek," Melkor said. "Thanks for
your assistance. Same for you, old friend Anc. And you too, Catbert and
Yuri. And Miyako! But once we get back to Roostville, I want you guys to
resume your everyday lives... Desu and I can handle this Khandejifer by
ourselves because I have one last trick up my sleeve that may indeed save
us all!"
CHAPTER
20: Resolution |