Shadow Paradigm is the 50th episode of Council of Creators, as well as the Season 2 Finale and the final episode of the Aetherium Arc. It was written by KoopaGalaxain.
Plot[]
In Universe 6991, something was very wrong. At least, that's what Longy thought. He had woken up that morning with a raging headache, and no matter what he could do, he just couldn't force it away. "Agh! This seriously hurts... why won't it go away? I've done everything I can!" He uttered with a groan.
"Are you sure this is just a headache?" Jolly inquired. "You don't suppose this could be another one of your 'premonitions' happening again?"
"He's right, ya know." Teeny mused. "Tell us, ya great galah, do you see anything in your mind that could be causing this?"
Longy paused for an agonising moment that felt much longer than it really was. "On second thoughts... yes... something is definitely there... a void... a strange light... a...rift? I can't make out what it-"
"EVERYONE, WATCH OUT!" Hedron's voice boomed, as he charged forward and threw the other Bootnokks to the ground, an impressive feat given the massive difference in height between Hedron and Longy.
At once, a huge sword appeared from over the horizon. It appeared to be the size of an entire continent! Flying at incredible speeds, the gigantic weapon soared straight over the fallen bodies of the four bootnokks, missing them by mere metres. As it continued on its way, it cleaved straight through a mountain range in the distance, before rising up and rocketing into the sky, disappearing through a mysterious portal just as quickly as it had appeared. Longy and the other surviving members of the Bootnokk Batallion charged towards what had once been the mountains, only to find a lake of boiling lava when they arrived.
Teeny looked over the edge of the burning caldera, and could only bring himself to utter a few short words...
"...Sweet Mother of God..."
Season 2 Finale: Shadow Paradigm
LOCATION: The Bar, Ustin, Universe 1 TIME: 01:00 AM
Hokuto Black King was pacing the floor of Koopa's secret laboratory, looking around at all the inventions Koopa had produced during the time he had been at the bar. Scratching his chin fervently, the reptilian bartender was clearly looking for something. He was gripping a notebook with ragged and well-worn pages, and alternated his search with leafing through the acres of notes inside it. "The Portable Universe Devices... come on, where are they?" he thought to himself. "If I can just find all of them intact, I can modify them according to these notes... that might be the only way I can get their friend back."
It was then that he accidentally bumped into a stack of dusty boxes, sending one of them crashing down to the ground and spilling their contents all over the floor. "Thank the Multiverse for this room's soundproofing." Hokuto Black King thought to himself, as he went to investigate the box's contents. As he knelt down to get a closer look, a grin crossed his face.
"Excellent."
SEVEN HOURS LATER
The bar was abuzz with activity as the Creators went about their tasks for the morning. BRK was busy polishing the bar counter with Hokuto Black King, Koopa was busy dusting, Indominus, MKG and Wolf were all reorganising a collection of books into a new bookcase.
After a few minutes, Hokuto Black King paused. Raising his voice, he caught the attention of everyone else in the room.
"My friends... I have something I must show you, and it is of the utmost importance. It's about your missing friend. Come with me." He uttered, as he left his post at the bar and began walking towards the basement. Confused, the Creators followed him.
"Behold, the results of my efforts." Hokuto Black King uttered upon opening the door to the basement, revealing the conjoined Portable Universe Devices. Each of them were linked up to some sort of central console with glowing lights on it. The completed machine made a series of loud bleeps and error sounds.
"Wh...what have you done?!" Koopa uttered, looking upon the warped devices that used to be some of his creations. "How did you even know how to modify the devices to create that? I could have sworn that such a creation was only theoretical..."
"There's no time for explanations as to how I created this." Hokuto Black King replied abruptly. "What I have been meaning to tell you, is that all this time... a higher authority has had me become the friend that I am to you... I am... I was a double agent. On his orders, your friend was captured by me and held by him... his name is Aetherium, and I fear we do not have much time before he finds out that I have chosen to side with you."
Hokuto Black King then pulled on a cord attached to an easel, resulting in a rolled-up illustration unfurling itself, revealing the image of a giant sword-like being, a huge point of light erupting from the centre of its hilt. "That's... That's the Sword Thingy I fought a few weeks ago!" BRK uttered, gazing at the illustration closely to make sure that his exclamation was correct.
Koopa, taken aback by what Hokuto Black King had just said, had barely any time to comprehend the gravity of the situation. For weeks, someone the Creators thought of as their closest friend had secretly been working against them, only to have defected? That was all that he could make sense of from the mess he was presented with.
"If... if you were working against us for all that time, what made you change? How can we trust you?" BRK asked nervously.
"It all happened while you were gone, BRK." Hokuto Black King replied. "I am sure that you are familiar with what happened to the Earth, that pandemic which nearly destroyed humanity... Fighting alongside your comrades on a mission to protect them, I had an epiphany. I could make my own decisions, and not just be some subordinate. I had come to befriend all of you, and in that moment I had realised the value of being an ally. Now that Aetherium probably knows about my plan, this may be the last time any of us fight together, as the whole planet may not survive what we are about to face."
He then took a bow, and got down on one knee with his head lowered.
"My friends... It would be an honour to fight alongside you, one final time."
Humbled by this, the Creators all started applauding Hokuto Black King for his honest and moving speech.
"Now, I shall demonstrate this new creation in action!" Hokuto Black King yelled. Everyone held their breath as each of the Portable Universe Devices activated in sequence, firing beams of energy into a growing portal that hovered just above the ground. "Be ready!" Hokuto Black King insisted, as the process concluded.
From the portal stepped four mysterious figures, shrouded in shadow thanks to the dim lighting of the room. The first to become visible was what appeared to be a human female, with a silver-coloured bird resting on her shoulder with pink hook-like legs.
"Is that...Cdr?!" Indominus began, his voice picking up in excitement. "Oh my god, it's like a fanfiction come true! I have so much to tell you, and you'll be in every one of my-"
"Euthanize it, now." Hokuto Black King uttered with a stern tone, and BRK immediately followed, firing a shot from a blaster he had taken off the wall. As soon as the beam of energy struck the Female Cdr and its avian companion, it turned the two into ash, who blew away on a draft coming in through an open window.
Out of the view of everyone else there, Indominus silently walked up the stairs and into the bar. It seemed as if he was going to sit out this time, instead opting to cheer himself up with an episode of his favourite anime.
The remaining two figures became visible at the same time, the two of them looking quite similar to each other. They were revealed to be Koopa, the Baddest Demon of Them All and a version of Doctor Meme from the recent past of Universe 1, the latter of the two carrying a miniaturised and inanimate BIOS-SX to power some sort of device on his right arm.
"How... fascinating." Doctor Meme uttered. "It feels like timelines and universes are being interconnected, if just for a moment! I must find out more about this."
"Hey, I'm just hoping the inhabitants of this place buy cars. You have no idea how frustrating it is trying to run a totally legitimate business in a part of the planet where so few people live." Demon Koopa replied, the both of them completely ignoring the dumbfounded Creators who were watching them with wide eyes. The two Greenman lookalikes scaled the stairs to leave the basement, before promptly fading out of existence before they could reach the door, unintentionally returning to their own places in time and space just as quickly as they had appeared in that of the Creators.
At long last, the Creators stood before the final being to have stepped forth from the portal, which closed behind it. A huge wave of relief washed over everyone in the room when Scoobs became visible in the gloom, weakened but alive, and stood unsteadily on his feet. BRK and Wolf rushed forward to stop him from falling down. Scoobs glared at Hokuto Black King with a gaze that felt like a knife cutting straight through his armoured skin.
Cdr breathed a sigh of relief as he rushed over. "Ah, you made it out of there alive... We were fearing you wouldn't make it after being in there so long!"
"Whatever." Scoobs replied flatly, before suddenly pointing towards Hokuto Black King. "You."' He then suddenly stood upright, and walked with a new strength straight towards the modified Planet Nackle dinosaur. "What do you have to say that could stop me from killing you right here on the spot?"
Hokuto Black King took several steps backwards, only to be followed by Scoobs, who looked him straight in the eye. A bead of sweat ran down the bartender's brow.
"You will need my assistance for what is about to happen." Hokuto Black King replied, remaining stern in his tone despite his obvious unease. "For, if my reasoning is correct... this planet is about to go through hell."
All of a sudden, the very atmosphere itself seemed to be shaking, and a loud hum filled the air, forcing everyone to cover their ears.
"Follow me." Hokuto Black King uttered. "He has arrived, and my existence as a creation of my master allows me to find exactly where he shall appear." And with that, Hokuto Black King and the others ascended the stairs out of the basement, and left the bar with great haste, with Indominus soon after deciding to run off after them to catch up.
Outside, the city had fallen to chaos, and a riot was raging. Hundreds of thousands of people were swarming the neighbouring streets, stealing anything they could get their hands on and then setting ablaze the empty buildings once their contents had been completely taken away. The street the bar was on had only been spared because a tall office building had collapsed at its end, cutting the road off from the rest of the chaos. The people involved in the riot were fighting with unnatural strength, viciously beating anyone who got in their way with whatever weapons they could get their hands on, and the groans of the injured could barely be heard above the baying of the enraged mob.
After walking for what felt like hours, the Creators had made it to the coast, far away from the madness that had overtaken Ustin. Making their way to the top of a towering cliff that overlooked the orange sea, the group had finally reached the place Hokuto Black King had told them Aetherium would arrive at. A deep rumbling noise could be heard in the distance, growing ever louder with each passing second.
A radio BRK had found along the way began transmitting a message from the Ustin City Council. Everyone gathered around it to listen to the broadcast.
"Good afternoon. This is Bartholomew Agincourt, a major in the Ustin Army. Following the devastating riots in the city today, the government and my superiors have agreed on implementing martial law for the following two weeks. While the situation is largely under control, many lives have been lost, and I can't risk a repeat of these events happening again. It is therefore for everyone's safety that those contained within a 20 mile radius stretching from Central Ustin are subject to a 10 hour curfew, stretching from 10 in the evening to 8 in the morning. Anyone caught breaking this curfew will be punished accordingly. Please stay tuned, as more information will be revealed over the coming hours. Thank you."
"Well, at least we're out of there. No need for stealth like when Organon attacked, right?" Koopa asked.
"Right." Wolf replied. "But we can't let that lower our guard; the military will surely arrive here soon if Hokuto Black King's predictions are correct, and we will most likely have to protect them."
From a nearby bush, two glowing orange eyes gazed at the small group of heroes closely, twitching with what seemed like fatigue every now and then. It turned out that an alternate version of Baron Helium had been residing in this place, by some sheer coincidence. How he had ended up in Universe 1 was anyone's guess - perhaps he been dragged through a spacial abnormality from somewhere else in the Multiverse, or had somehow managed to enter Universe 1 through the portal device Hokuto Black King and the others had hastily abandoned. "Th-these people are...they are just fine. I won't need to hand out some of my retribution to these ones... they aren't my prey. But, if what they are talking about is true, then... then I must move on." And with that, the Helium Robot quickly activated the thrusters in his feet and drifted off, the Creators and Hokuto Black King too occupied by their discussion to even notice Baron Helium slowly floating upwards and away into the atmosphere, his head flattened out like a microlight's wing.
Soon, the familiar rumbling of helicopter engines could be heard by everyone. BRK looked off into the distance, and spotted a news helicopter approaching at high speed. "Oh hell, not again..." He groaned, spying the GlobalNews logo on the chopper's side.
Thump! Baron Helium's lighter-than-air body bumped into the fuselage of the helicopter, before continuing to float away. "What a strange balloon that is..." Cdr thought. "Well then, this has just made the battle a heck of a lot harder." He mused.
"What an incredible sight! Kathleen Hudson yelled, urging her cameraman to film the gathering of the Creators at the cliff. It seems Ustin's finest heroes have gathered at the coast, away from the curfew radius! What might they be planning here? We'll keep all of you updated as this situation develops."
Wolf turned towards the helicopter, a look of frustration crossing her face. "Get back if you know what's good for you!" she yelled, firing a small fireball which exploded in mid air, creating a gale-force gust of wind which blew the helicopter back several hundred metres.
Suddenly, the sound of thundering footsteps could be heard on the horizon. Koopa spun around, and instantly recognised who it was. "Hey, everyone! John's here!" He exclaimed, before he narrowed his eyes to try and get a closer look. John appeared to be lugging something behind him, a long black object that appeared to be cutting a furrow into the ground. "How... how the hell did he get a hold of the Giga Battle Nizer?"
"I know... exactly what you're thinking!" John gasped as he came to a halt in front of the others. "How on earth did I manage to get this weapon here when you thought you'd locked the doors to the Bar? Well, you guys gotta be a bit more careful - The weapon vault may have been secured, but you forgot to shut the doors properly before locking it. Anyone could have got in there and stolen your booze! I'd have gone and locked it myself, but I left my keys at home in my hurry to get here, so I shut the doors as best as I could instead."
An awkward silence followed before John spoke again.
"Ah yes, why I have the Giga Battle Nizer - that's what you want to hear, don't you? Well, it's simple really - I can tell that this whole situation is about to go to hell really fast, so I figured why not offer some help from the sidelines? If Belial was able to revive that many monsters with it, surely I'd be able to revive one or two."
"That's an excellent idea, John!" Cdr exclaimed, assuming his Ultra form. "We'll need all the help we can get, and what more fitting way to do that than to use the weapon of the very Dark Ultra who nearly offed us all."
Hokuto Black King's eyes widened, and a shrieking noise filled his ears. It almost sounded like his eardrums had burst, but they were certainly still there. "Aetherium... he comes." He thought, as he gazed to the sky. The other Creators noticed the same noise too shortly afterwards, and the conversation between them died on the wind.
Following Hokuto Black King's lead, all of the Creators also stared off towards the clouds. Scoobs' eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of the colossal sword's form for the first time. "So now you show your face..." he murmured. The shrieking sound had now risen to an infernal bellow, one which caused yet another powerful tremor to shake the cliff. And then...
It spoke.
"You creators are the bane of my existence." a colossal voice boomed from the sword's location. "All of you, along with that traitor that I used to call my finest creation... You shall be purged with fire, along with this planet and all who stand upon it! I have no need for subterfuge now, everything has been set in motion. The one who brought me into existence will be most pleased when he hears about the fall of the only group capable of stopping his great plan! Now, DIE!!"
And with that, the colossal sword rose pivoted on the end of its hilt, its tip rising high into space. Streaks of red and orange erupted around the end of its massive blade as it slowly began to come down, the leading edge being affected by the atmosphere's resistance and producing a horrendous screech.
"I... have figured out its size..." Koopa murmured. "Aetherium... he... in this form, Aetherium is larger than Jupiter."
As soon as Koopa finished speaking, Aetherium came down on the planet with the force of a million suns. The end of the giant sword cleaved straight through the planet in one fell swoop, slicing through the billions of tons of rock and metal as if it was never even there.
For a moment, everything fell silent. It almost seemed as if the horrifying sight had been just a vision, but then the skies turned blood red, and magma began erupting with a mighty thundering as it bled from the bisected sphere. The Earth itself had been cut vertically in half with the greatest precision, and now, all hell was breaking lose. In the distance, the Creators could hear the screams of everyone in Ustin rising above the immense noise of the planet's halves crushing and sliding against one another. Everyone looked to the sky, to see the ejected magma forming a wretched halo around the slaughtered sphere, spinning in a cruel bastardisation of one of Saturn's rings.
BRK, followed by Cdr, MKG, Nerd and Indominus, fell limp to their knees, aghast at what they had just witnessed. The first of the five felt an overwhelming urge to scream, but at the same time his right hand pressed hard against his face, resulting in the sound that should have been produced being reduced to nothing but a series of short and pained gasps. The other three managed to pull themselves back up, but Cdr and Nerd found that it was impossible to get BRK to rise to his feet, even when Indominus tried to join them.
"He... he's completely disassociated himself!" Indominus yelled, tremors occupying his hands. "He's awake, yet completely unresponsive..."
"Set him down over there, now." Hokuto Black King replied, pointing towards a patch of long grass underneath the branches of a chestnut tree. "I'd go so far to say that he might just be the luckiest one of us."
"Alright, barkeep!" Indominus replied, cradling the catatonic BRK in his arms. He attempted to make his way towards the tree, but the near endless earthquakes unleashed by Aetherium's horrendous assault on the Earth made every step an agonising struggle. After what felt to Indominus like hours, he was finally able to gently lower his fallen ally to the ground, and began making his way back to the remaining Creators.
"Alright, Mr. Double Agent, since your little plan to turn against your master worked so well, what do you suppose we do now?" Scoobs asked, making no attempt to hide his blatantly sarcastic tone. To this, Hokuto Black King shuddered.
"We have two options..." He uttered slowly. "Either we try to fight a literal god alone, foolishly hoping that we might survive... or..."
"Spit it out!" yelled Cdr. "What's the other option?"
"We appeal to Aetherium's superior." Hokuto Black King replied. "Either scenario will almost certainly result in our deaths. You see this? Aetherium may be infinitely powerful, but he is stronger still. Aetherium may think that he's in control, but should we be able to wake the slumbering deity that is his master, the one who is destined to wield him as the Slayer of Universes... he holds the power to halt this rampage..."
"You're not making either of these sound like an appetising prospect." Wolfzilla replied flatly, dodging a massive block of cooled basalt that had fallen from the molten ring back into the atmosphere of the dying Earth.
"Here's how I see it;" Nerd butted in, "There's pretty much a 100% chance that we'll end up dead, no matter what happens. So what's the point in idling about it? We might as well try both, there's really nothing to lose now that we're basically doomed to spend our final moments in this hellhole-"
The Creator was interrupted from his explanation by the sight of Aetherium's 'eye', the massive glowing orb in the centre of the galactic sword's 'hilt' unleashing a vivid pale blue beam, which shot down to the ground a short distance away.
"Everyone, be on your guard!" Hokuto Black King exclaimed, regaining his composure. Almost as soon as the heroic bartender had finished speaking, the beam condensed into ten figures. Nerd recognised the shapes of them immediately. "Are... are those Dragonish? They're the same creatures as the one that tried to attack one of my closest friends last year!
"So, you know about them as well?" Hokuto Black King asked, conveniently ignoring the three reptilian kaiju's harsh roars. "In the universe from where I live, these creatures are real nasty pieces of work. Don't underestimate them."
"Behold, my subordinates." Aetherium bellowed, the beam fading from his 'eye'. "You, Hokuto, are just as replaceable as them. Do not bother telling yourself that you ever mattered while you were under my control. For your disobedience, I'm going to give you something truly special... You will have to watch as I have these servants of mine rip your pathetic friends to bloody pieces!"
Suddenly, the Dragonish charged the Creators, shrieking as they did so! Caught off-guard by the sudden movement, John was unable to get a clear shot at them with the Giga Battle Nizer, and was thrown off his feet and pinned to the ground by one of them. Luckily, John had one of his arms free, and managed to deliver a heavy blow to the Dragon's snout, sending it reeling back with a groan. Despite John's counterattack, the other nine Dragonish swarmed the Creators, viciously lashing out at them with their wickedly-sharp claws.
Hokuto Black King's hands clenched into fists, and his jaw was closed so fast that the others could almost hear his teeth rubbing against each other. As the mortally wounded Earth continued to let loose tremor after tremor, the heroic double agent could feel the planet's gravity weakening with every passing second. "Drastic times call for drastic measures." he thought.
Almost immediately, the tip of his horn began glowing a bright blue, the same colour as the asterism on his chest. The sudden occurrence of this almost surprised him, but he knew exactly what he wanted to do. Letting the energy consume his body, wave upon wave of light pulsed forth from his form. With a mighty roar, the light dissipated, and Hokuto Black King's new form was unveiled!
One of the Dragonish, who had been brutally whaling on Indominus, spun around to see Hokuto Black King launching himself straight towards it with huge strides. Before the monster could even react, his adversary grabbed its jaw with one hand, and effortlessly ripped it off in one piece. Stumbling around, the Dragonish gurgled weakly as blood filled its throat, before falling down dead in a heap.
Upon hearing the noise, everyone else looked around, even the remaining nine Dragonish, each of whom had expressions of shock crossing their faces. After a brief pause, Scoobs decided to speak. "Well, I guess there's nothing holding us back now! ATTACK!"
And so, the battle raged on, this time with the Creators clearly having the upper hand! Koopa successfully deflected the Dragonfly Flame beam of one of the alien monsters with his Absorption Redirection before using his Energy Tendril blades to slice off its head. Scoobs' Green Atomic Beam had clearly not had its power reduced by the time he had spent in Aetherium's captivity, as it promptly set two of the monsters ablaze. Nerd was busy pummelling the Dragonish that had attacked him with overhand punches, and Wolf utilised her fire techniques to great effect, sending her adversary reeling back as burns began to cover its skin.
Meanwhile, Cdr, MKG and John had taken a more strategic approach to the fight. Luring out the four remaining Dragonish that weren't engaged in battle with the others, Cdr forced the creatures to pursue him until they were within range of the Giga Battle Nizer's devastating Belial Geno Thunder beam. In the end, all but two of the Dragonish had been taken out, with the pair that remained fleeing into the distance. As soon as they had fled into the bisected ruins of Ustin, the dying Earth was overcome by tremors once again.
"All of this is pointless!" MKG yelled. "Aetherium is using these battles as a distraction, to prevent us from being able to bring this crisis to an end! If we don't do something, and fast, this whole planet will become our tomb!"
"We gotta move quickly on this." John replied, giving a nod in agreement to MKG's exclamation. "We are running out of time."
"Yes, pathetic insects..." Aetherium boomed. "Your struggles entertain me. How long will you last? This planet's final hour has come! The seas will boil, the ground itself will melt under the blistering heat of the magma ejected from below, and when it's all said and done, all that will be left of your pathetic world will be a dead and cold husk! DO YOUR WORST, CREATORS! PRAY, CRY, SCREAM OUT FOR HELP THAT WILL NEVER COME! THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME NOW!"
As Aetherium's raucous cackling filled the air, John's eyebrows suddenly raised, and the corners of his mouth turned into a very slight smile. "We may not be able to pray for this planet's safety, but I have an idea! I've been compiling a series of documents on the universes we had been to and had experiences with, and I learned something fascinating along the way!"
Intrigued, Hokuto Black King and the others turned to face the scientist to hear him out, who took this as an invitation to continue.
"Universe -1, the Universe Aetherium and all his creations come from... it really is something rather special, isn't it? You know that too, wouldn't you Hokuto?" He asked. After some hesitation, Hokuto Black King replied.
"Aetherium never informed his creators about the one who formed him, but I could feel his presence all around me when I resided in that place. Universe -1 is alive, and even has a name, and title to boot. His name is G-Rex, and as the living body of Universe -1, he holds supreme dominion over all who inhabit his slumbering form. When he awakens, he is the Reaper of Universes, and he has been resting for trillions of years, awaiting the right time to rise."
"Yes, yes, that seems to add up..." John replied, flicking through a palm-sized copy of his writings on Universe -1 that he had brought with him. He shuddered for a moment, and a bead of sweat ran down his brow. "Hokuto... for the good of the Earth... we need you to call for him, to bring Aetherium's master to hear our cries."
To this, the heroic bartender's eyes grew wide, a look of stunned confusion upon his face. After a minute or so, he mustered the strength to reply.
"John... I sure hope you're merely being naive. The chances of G-Rex listening to us and using his abilities to set things right is next to nothing. This is a literal god we're talking about - a cruel god which you may well be putting too much trust in. With Aetherium by his side, G-Rex destroys universes with barely any effort at all-"
"...I hate to say it, but it may well be the only chance we have." Wolf butted in, her gaze focused on the arc of ejected magma that was beginning to circle the bisected Earth.
"...Fine, you've all made your point." Hokuto Black King uttered bluntly. "If this really is the final option, then I'll do what I can. The rest of you will need to protect me."
And with that, the grand finale of the battle had been set in motion! Black King began chanting in a strange language as the Creators and John gathered around him, protecting the heroic double agent from whatever was to come next. Aetherium's 'eye' emitted another blinding flash, and in an instant, yet more Universe -1 Dragonish were sent down to fight, even more than the last batch. In the battle that ensued, both sides fought as hard as they could, neither group yielding to the attacks of the other!
In the centre of it all stood Hokuto Black King. Something was happening to his body, once again! His skin began to take on a lustrous quality, and the asterism on his body rose up and off its surface, and began to duplicate. As Hokuto Black King's eyes turned a blinding white, he unleashed a golden aura from his body, and a mighty roar echoed through the air!
The sheer force of the aura being given off by Hokuto Black King rendered it difficult for the others to stand; as for the Dragonish, the incredible blasts of displaced air thrown forth by their adversary's metamorphosis quite literally blew them away.
"AETHERIUM!" Hokuto Black King yelled. "YOUR MINUTES IN OUR UNIVERSE ARE NUMBERED!"
John shuddered upon hearing these words; not because of what Hokuto Black King had said, but for something else. In that moment, he could have sworn he felt something change...everywhere. He could sense its power, and it strengthened the longer he remained aware of it. Slowly but surely, a deep, booming rumble began to fill the air, deafening even the sounds of the dying Earth's wails as it ejected even more of its lifeblood into space. At first garbled and difficult to understand, it began to condense until it undeniably took the form of a voice, echoing and magnificent.
F̷̼̳O̖̱R̗͚̣͈ ͔̬̪T͎̲͍͖̳R̠̩̭̲̮I͓̜̻̹̕L̦̘͈̦͔̝ͅL̮̠̗̦̩͈̲I̳̪̫O͓̹̣͎̗̝N̟̖̳̝̤͚̳S̤̥̟̺ ̡O̸F̲̤͓͔̮͠ ͎̬̤͓̘̤Y̝̮̣̬Ȩ̱A̫̮̳̜̝ͅR̡S͚̥͘,͇͇̙͈ͅ ̙͔̘͝I͈̼̘̠̻ ͔̻͍H̢͈͔͈̳A̸̹̬͓̤̤Ṿ͖̜̼E̫̣̞̫̺ ̖̻͕̙S͢L̨͎͙̗͉̟̜ͅÚ̘̫͈̳M̩͙̩̫̠B̢͓̰E̸R̕E̙̯̦̩̩̦͜D̺̦̜͡
T̙ͤ̌̍ͬͨ͞Ḙ̸͖͇͇̤͔ͬ̑ͅL̦͓̟ͯ͌̕L̾ͤ̇̋ͪͧ̋҉̫ ̆̇͐̇ṂE̲̙͈̻͉̰ͫ̓́,̺͍̦͚̖̮ͫ̊ ̧̏ͧ̊̃ͣW͖̫͎͐̉̒ͥȞ̪̰͔͋̐̐̚Õ̦͔̖̔ ͔̼͔͈͓̲̙͑́Ḩ̠͐ͩͦĂ̖̭͌̆ͣS̪͎͖͉̥͡ ̪͗̿̾ͯͬͫCͥ͠A̭̖͈͈̔̑ͩͧ̽̾L͕̻̣̎̒̚L̻̬̥͕̦̾̅͌̈́̔͋̚ͅĔ̟̹ͭD͍͈̻̈́͛ ̱̰͙̬͕̹͙̇ͨ̅̑O̭̹͙̫̩͐̌͋͠Ų̟̗̯̆ͪ̓ͮ͒T̘̭̣͎̥͔ͥ͒̌͝ ̨͙͖̈́M̲̓ͯ̑̽̎ͬ̑Ỷ̟̌̿̉̏ ̕Ň̲̻̗ͪ͒ͩ͒ͩ͐͡A͎͖̪͝ͅM͖ͮͮ̈E̡͔͎̤͙͖̳͗̈̉̐̄͐?̤̘̞̭̘͐̿̐̌̐̎͜ "...AETHERIUM... IS THAT YOU?"'
Aetherium's eye glowed a bright white as he heard the disembodied voice as well. Master?! W...what are you doing awake? Your arrival was not to take place until my plans had succeeded!
"SILENCE!" the voice boomed. It was then that its accompanying body began to come into view. A slight smirk crossed Hokuto Black King's face as he beheld the visage of his former true master.
G-Rex had arrived, having condensed his body too, so that he could exist in Universe 1 without tearing it to shreds merely by being within it. Despite this, his body was massive: his head alone was twice the size of the sun, and each of his arms extended far beyond the moon.
"AETHERIUM, YOU WILL STAND DOWN, AND YOU WILL DO SO NOW. YOU HAVE ACTED WITHOUT MY AUTHORITY, AND HAVE BROUGHT HARM UPON THIS UNIVERSE THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS! SEE HOW THIS PLANET HAS BEEN LEFT BY YOU! WITNESS THE SUFFERING OF BILLIONS OF LIFEFORMS NATIVE TO THIS REALM!"
Master, I-" Aetherium began, but G-Rex grabbed him by the hilt in one of his gigantic hands, quite literally plucking him out of the sky. As he did so, his colossal orange eye emitted an unnatural flicker of otherworldly light. In this state, G-Rex had become the Reaper of Universes which Hokuto Black King had described him as previously. He could destroy Universe 1 right there, with no hesitation nor any effort whatsoever, but yet the literal god paused.
"NOT A SINGLE WORD FROM YOU SHALL CROSS MY EARS, DO YOU HEAR ME?" G-Rex boomed. With Aetherium silenced, he 'knelt' down, focusing his immense gaze upon the Creators and Hokuto Black King. Scoobs stepped forward, as he felt he had something important to ask the literal god.
"You... I recognise the raw power being given off by your body. I felt a similar force when I existed in the dimension your little toy created to imprison me. Was that you I sensed around me?"
"HM..." G-Rex uttered. "I WAS STILL SLUMBERING THEN. AETHERIUM MAY HAVE CONSTRUCTED THE DIMENSION DEEP WITHIN THE VOIDS OF MY UNCONSCIOUS FORM FOR THE PURPOSE OF HOLDING YOU. THE TRUTH IS, WHEN I AM NOT IN THE FORM YOU SEE ME AS NOW, I AM UNIVERSE -1, THE NEGATIVE UNIVERSE. I RESIDE IN THAT FORM TO EVADE THE THINGS I DID IN THE DISTANT PAST... ALAS, NONE OF THAT MATTERS NOW. I SHALL ERASE THIS TARNISHED UNIVERSE, AND SEND IT BACK TO NOTHINGNESS, SO YOU NEED NEVER SUFFER AGAIN."
"Wait!" Koopa yelled, pushing through the others to face G-Rex head on. "Please, you must listen to us, we need your help!"
"OH? AND WHAT REQUEST MIGHT THAT BE, LITTLE MITE?" G-Rex rumbled. Koopa felt like taking a step back, being both humbled and intimidated by the sentient universe's visage, but held firm. "GO ON THEN, ENTERTAIN ME." G-Rex commanded, waiting for a response.
"You said you had the power to erase Universes... Do you have the power to restore them, or other objects on a smaller scale?" Koopa asked.
"HM. YES, I DO. IT IS A POWER THAT I KNOW THAT I HAVE, BUT I HAVE OPTED TO NEVER USE IT FOR THE FEAR OF BRINGING BACK THINGS THAT WERE BETTER LEFT LOST TO TIME."
Wolf stepped forward and addressed G-Rex directly. "Well, your majesty, we must ask you if you can restore this planet to how it was before Aetherium attacked. This planet is still young, it doesn't deserve to go out like this. Can't you see what Aetherium has done? If we wait much longer, I don't think we'll have any options left..."
G-Rex uttered a sound that resembled laughter, which shook both the ruined planet and the very atmosphere that still somehow circled it.
"YOU CREATURES ARE AN UNUSUAL LOT. WHY YOU STILL CHOOSE TO PUT YOUR FAITH IN THIS CADAVEROUS SPHERE, I KNOW NOT, BUT REGARDLESS... YOUR REQUEST HAS BEEN HEARD, AND I MAY BE ABLE TO MAKE AN EXCEPTION FOR CIRCUMSTANCES SUCH AS THESE. I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WIPE THE MEMORIES OF THE CREATURES WHICH WALK THE EARTH ALONGSIDE YOU... THEY SHALL HAVE TO COME TO TERMS WITH IT IN ANY WAY THEY CAN."
And with that, G-Rex shoved the still-protesting Aetherium into his abdomen. As the sentient galaxy entered his body, it reverted back into its true form, a spiral galaxy with many arms, not unlike those common to Universe 1. "I CANNOT ALLOW HIM TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO INTERFERE WITH THIS AGAIN." G-Rex boomed, his gigantic head looming over the entire planet.
"NOW, BEHOLD!"
A titanic beam as wide as Jupiter shot out of G-Rex's eye, still dwarfed by the size of its creator. Striking the Earth, it produced a strange and mystical sound that awoke BRK from his catatonia. Appearing as if he had risen from some sort of nightmare, he looked around to find that the chasm left by Aetherium's murderous attack was beginning to knit itself together, from the bisected core far below to the crust just beneath his feet. With a natural bridge forming in front of him, he broke into a sprint to join the others. A jet of magma leaving the previously ruined planet was caught mid-spurt by G-Rex's beam, solidifying into a brand new mountain, bare of trees and snow, that straddled the line of the rift.
"Oh, you're alright!" Hokuto Black King uttered upon seeing BRK arrive. "I could have sworn you were done for back there."
"Yeah, it wasn't pleasant what happened. I had the worst dream, that seemed to go on forever..." BRK replied, shuddering as he did so. "Anyway, you look different!" he continued, pointing out Hokuto Black King's golden form that he had used to contact G-Rex.
"Ah, I see you noticed." Hokuto Black King exclaimed. "This form doesn't really have a name yet, I don't even know if it can actually do anything, either... I should probably come up with a name for it. How does Solar Luminosity sound?"
"Hm, that's good and all, but I think Stellar Resplendence sounds like a better name for it. It just feels like a better name."
"Stellar Resplendence..." Hokuto Black King uttered, listening to how the name sounded. "You know what, that's actually really good! I think I'll stick with that one."
"Hey, everyone, take a look at this!" John yelled, pointing to the sky. The smoke filling the air had dissipated, and the sun was rising. The sea was bathed in its light, casting ripples upon the cliff face below the Creators. It seemed that G-Rex's act of restoration was just about over. Visible through the atmosphere as the result of his immense size, the sentient universe looked down upon those who had called out for him. Hokuto Black King's Stellar Resplendence form dissipated as he gazed upon the face of his old superior, reverting back to his ordinary form.
"YOUR REQUEST HAS BEEN GRANTED." G-Rex boomed. "AETHERIUM HAS BEEN VANQUISHED, AND YOUR PLANET HAS BEEN RECONSTRUCTED. BUT, I SHALL NOT GIVE YOU THIS MERCY TWICE, SHOULD I BE CALLED UPON AGAIN. YOUR EFFORTS TO PROTECT THIS WORLD AND THE WORLDS BEYOND IT AMUSE ME... KNOW THIS, I SHALL BE WATCHING YOUR ADVENTURES CLOSELY... VERY CLOSELY, INDEED. I SHALL NOW LEAVE THIS REALM AND GO BACK TO THE VOID WHERE I BELONG, JUST ANOTHER UNIVERSE IN THE SEA OF UNIVERSES THAT INHABIT THE BEYOND. FAREWELL!"
And with that, he was gone. G-Rex faded away like condensation on a window. As he disappeared, the Creators, Hokuto Black King and John looked upon the scene, taking in the planet's renewed vitality.
"So, what do we do now?" John asked, after a moment of reflection.
"I say that we return back to the bar. Nothing like a good party to stave off whatever psychological horrors lurk within our minds right now." Scoobs uttered.
"Well, maybe not in such blunt terms as that, but yeah, I think that's a good idea! Come on, everyone!" Indominus chirped.
THREE HOURS LATER
Back at the Bar in Ustin, the party was in full swing. The television and radio had both been switched off; the news about the day's horrifying events could wait. In the kitchen, the scene was somewhat quieter. Hokuto Black King, clad in his now-iconic bartender suit, was busy packing a case that contained his favourite cocktail shaker and a set of Martini glasses, the same set he had used in his introduction to the Creators all those months ago. Alone with his thoughts, he was suddenly interrupted by Scoobs walking in through the door, who upon seeing the scene laid out before him, knew exactly what was happening. The time had come.
"Oh...? Barkeep, are you sure you want to do this?" Scoobs asked.
"Well, I'm a free monster now, I suppose. My little charade I kept to keep you all safe is no longer needed, and from my time fighting alongside you all, I've seen so much of this planet that frankly, I'd like to travel it and see more of this place."
"Listen." Scoobs replied. "I know it may not seem like I cared about it back then in the basement, but I appreciate you choosing to save me from that place. I honestly thought I was going to live out the rest of my sorry existence in that hellhole. You did the right thing, and I am in your debt."
"I'm very pleased to hear that!" Hokuto Black King exclaimed, a sincere smile crossing his face. "I can assure you though, this will not be the last time you see me, and I've made sure the position of bartender here won't be vacant for very long. Let's just say that while I was learning on the fly, I made a few business connections with someone who I think would be perfect for the role. He should be in contact soon."
"Are you leaving right this moment, though?" Scoobs asked. To this, Hokuto Black King chuckled.
"Leaving when a party like this is going on? God no! I wouldn't miss this for the universe. Let's get back in there and finally have an afternoon where everything is relatively fine for once.
THE END
Appearances[]
Council Of Creators[]
Other Allies[]
Kaiju[]
- Aetherium
- Hokuto Black King
- G-Rex
- Longy, the Long Godzilla
- Teeny, the Tiny Godzilla
- Jolly the Christmas Pudding
- Hedron
- Platinum Dove (Cameo)
- Koopa, the Baddest Demon of Them All
- Doctor Meme
- BIOS-SX (Cameo)
- Baron Helium (Cameo)
- Vicious-Type Dragonish
- Aetherium's Creator
Human Characters[]
- Bartholomew Agincourt
- Kathleen Hudson
Trivia[]
- This was the first episode to use the new collapsible navigation box for Council of Creators episodes. It was later retroactively added to the other episodes that had already been published at the time of its creation.
- The appearance of a female Cdr and the Platinum Dove which created it is a reference to an amusing moment that took place in the Wikizilla Discord after the Platinum Dove was introduced by Scoobydooman90001, in which Cdr changed his user icon to pretend that he had been feminised by the Dove.
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