Haze & Chaos - The Hunt Part 13
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“Geez, Dad–we leave you alone for two minutes…” Ignatius said as he tapped his foot with his hands on his hips. Barry had gone and retrieved some backup from The ULTRAMagic Guild, further consisting of Ludwig and Rostislav.
“What can I say, son?” Will said with hands up as Mayhem demerged from him. He glanced around at the battlefield, noting that not much had been harmed as the clean-up crew took care of the dead nephilim. “That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.”
“Well done, Specialist,” Ludwig said as he gave a respectful applause. “Definitely a vast improvement since Dust Gullet Gulch.”
Rostislav then took Will by the shoulders with his arm and swung him around a little. “Kicking ass, Will, no two ways about it!”
“Thanks, guys,” Will said with a chuckle. “Oh, have you all met Jun yet?” Will inquired as he indicated for Jun to walk over, with Volt following him.
“We’ve definitely heard of him,” Ludwig replied, shaking Jun’s hand. “Hallo, Jun, I am Captain Ludwig Liechenberg of the PMRDO, this is Private Rostislav Dracul, and Will’s son is Ignatius Darren Ford–”
“Just call me ‘Infinity,’” Ignatius added.
“Konnichiwa, all of you,” Jun replied as he shook the other’s hands.
“Same here,” Volt added as he shook their hands too.
“Subarashī!” Keisuke said as he hurried over. “Some of Will’s compatriots! A pleasure to meet you all–I’m Keisuke, Jun’s protector.”
“A kappa?” Rostislav said as he looked over at Ignatius. “For real?”
“Yup,” he replied.
“An honor to make your acquaintance, Keisuke,” Ludwig said with a polite bow. “Ahem, Barry–you and Will said Jun has potential?” This caught Jun off guard, leaving him a little speechless.
“Oh yeah, I did mention that, ha,” Barry said as he stepped away from some M.A.I.G. soldiers he was talking to. “If everything works out, we’ll have ULTRAMagic Trigger on our hands.”
Will nodded and patted Jun’s shoulder. “Kid’s definitely got potential–reminds me of me right before Red River in a way.”
Ludwig could sense that Jun had a lot on his shoulders, but could also tell just by looking at him that he had the makings of ULTRAMagic in him… and already seemed to have a couple of soul fragments–most likely from Volt and Keisuke, but also a third he could not quite place at the moment. “Would you like to join The ULTRAMagic Guild, Jun?”
Jun was stunned and honored, but did not want to be rude and boast. “But I don’t have ULTRAMagic yet…”
“Don’t worry, you’ll gain it super quick working with us,” Rostislav assured him.
“Tomato-kun’s joining the guild?!” Ryota exclaimed as he rushed over. “No way!”
“Ryota, long time no see!” Rostislav said as he high fived him multiple times.
“Great to see you all again too–don’t worry, Aoife has been getting on my case about visiting the guild again…”
She then walked over, albeit a little slowly as she limped over, having pulled something. “Seriously, Ryota, you really should swing by sometime, and bring Fianna too.”
“You going to be okay, mom?” asked Will.
“Don’t worry, Kiddo, I just need to apply some healing magic.”
Volt then cleared his throat as he had something he needed to say. “Well, if Trigger is going to join the guild, then he needs a new teacher…”
“What… What do you mean, Volt?” Jun asked.
“Jun, here…” Volt handed him a piece of paper with an address and a magick seal on it that pointed him in the direction of a house in Inferno. “I want you to add another devil to our team–my old mentor, Aatos Granite. He’s an earth devil and a little rough around the edges, but I think you’ll like him. As for me, I want to hang out with Will and his friends for a bit. This… won’t be an issue for you, Jun? I just… I just feel we both need to reorient our perspectives… if that’s the word for it.”
Jun studied the seal for a second, noting how it was scribbled on, which was on point for Volt. Still, it had an arcane energy to it that felt… right and grounded. He had to think about it for a second, and as he did, he realized that he needed to calm down–the world was in danger, but he was not going to get anywhere if he constantly poked a sleeping bear to save it. “Yeah, sure, Volt–I think that would be great for both of us. Think you can handle Volt, Will?”
“With ease,” he replied with a hand gesture that radiated coolness despite being a little nervous deep down. “Welcome to the team, Volt,” he said as he shook the devil’s hand.
“You’re in for a fun time, Voltage, no two ways about it,” Mayhem added as he also shook his hand. “Personally I think you should give Cliff Steele a call, as metal and electricity go well together, am I right?”
“Fine with me, I already like the sound of him,” Volt replied with a smile.
“Oh, Will,” Ryota interjected. “Can I take Haze off your hands for a little bit? It’s just that it’s been a while and I feel like we need to catch up a little–I’ll have him back to you by the squad meeting.”
“Fine with me–Haze?”
“Sure–don’t worry, I’ll make sure Ryota behaves.” That comment warranted some chuckles, especially from the guild mages.
“Boyo!” Sam called as she walked over. “Will, Jack says Senator Ripper is back at M.A.I.G. and wants to talk to you…” And in that moment everything distorted and slowed around the two… Time was not frozen, rather it felt like everything else had… slowed down? If that was the correct way to describe it… Or maybe they had slowed down?
“Sam? What’s going on here?”
She sighed and glanced down, then looked him in the eye. “Will, Ernust would like to talk to you for a second, and obviously he doesn’t want to do it around the others–Don’t worry, I… I fully trust him.”
Will could sense it was something important… and related to matters beyond Earth. “Alright… how do I get out of–” and before he could get an answer, Sam was blurred and faded, like she had left the space. “Right…”
Will wandered around for a bit, trying to find Ernust. It was surreal to walk through the city in the state he was in, as it felt like he was walking in a time that was never meant to exist–and every step was floaty and seemed like he was not actually there. Will eventually sensed something odd coming from the alley between Gustman’s Hardware and The Hardland Company… “You wanted to speak to me, Ernust?”
Ernust clapped with a smile, relieved to see Will had accepted his request for a talk. “Danke, Will–and my apologies for how sudden and bizarre this is…”
“What kind of magic is this? I know this isn’t chronomancy…”
Ernust glanced around and nodded–the brick walls surrounding them were fuzzy in a static-sort of way. “To be truthful, it’s less magic and more us occupying a time that is not supposed to exist–are you familiar with The Dead Gods?”
“I’ve… heard of them–something weird about how they existed for such a small amount of time that it’s practically impossible to study.”
“That is because they existed during The Dead Era–the time in between The Lost Era and The Void Era that only existed as a moment where time had yet to pass–or in this case start. The Time Void behaves similar to this. As for how I was able to bring us here, Akktak-Xaktalos shared some of his knowledge of time with me not too long ago…”
Will was not sure who that was, but felt that he was supposed to know who that god was regardless. “Right… So what's going on? Why did Sam tell me about this and then suddenly leave?”
Ernust chuckled and took a seat on a nearby crate, crossing his arms. “Well firstly, Morrigan is a member of The Eternal Order–”
“Wait, seriously? If you’re referring to Gore Bloodblade…”
Ernust nodded, even though it made Will a little uneasy. “Even if she didn’t realize it, that detestable Karnage had her join–and with her memories restored to her after Thorogor and Senot-drow’s spell wore off, Volf has been interested in employing her skills.”
“Volf Blitz, The Running God?”
“Ja.”
Will sighed. “Well, that explains why she said she trusts you–I take it you’re more aligned with Volf than Sebastian?”
“Indeed. Any rumors you may have heard about Sebastian once being a hermetic god who was a member of the early Eternal Order are also true–he was once The Despot God, and it goes without saying that Volf isn’t pleased with him given that he was brought in by The Behemoth God. I know Wendelin, Sebastian, and I all have a sordid past, but I am trying to bring Sebastian to a place where he can do some form of good instead of following in Karnage’s footsteps. I was Sebastian’s childhood friend after all, and I’ve stuck with him to try to save him…”
Will thought back to September and scoffed. “Good luck with that one–working with the Nazis isn't exactly a good look…”
“Ich weiß… I kept my hands clean back during the 30s and 40s–even helping the allies more often than not. Wendelin was mostly clean, and Sebastian isn’t exactly the villain he’s been painted out to be… disregarding the obvious.”
Will laughed in a mocking manner. “I was about to say MASSIVE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM!”
“Ja, ja. Will, if the worst man ever came up to you and offered to help out around the community in earnest, would you reject him?”
It took a second, but Will already had his answer in mind. “No… I grew up behind a real sleaze bag for way too long, but even I always said to myself that I would accept it if he came over, apologized, and donated to the poor or something like that… Sebastian’s not planning to do some community service, is he?”
Ernust shook his head. “It’s incredibly complicated, Will… I need you to see something…” He then handed him a roughed up slip of paper light brown in color. “Open a void door to those coordinates at the time listed and you will find yourself on Götterdämmerung. Stay hidden and you’ll see what I want to show you. I’d imagine going undetectable shouldn’t be a problem between Haze and The Undead God, but Wendelin will help if you need it…”
“I should be fine… you can’t tell me what it is right now?”
“Nein, it would cause too much trouble beforehand.”
Will stared Ernust in the eye, uncharacteristic for him given who he was… but that answer had sent a slight chill down his spine. “Fine, I’ll be there.”
Ernust got up and shook Will’s hand. “The Eye of Mimir will bless you for this, Will. And do not hesitate to call on me and Clara if you need help in the future.”
And in the blink of a moment, Will found himself back at the sight of the battle, talking with the group. It was the strangest transition imaginable, and Will had taken a moment to inspect himself… except nobody noticed this as Will had remained the way he was when Sam had talked to him. The sensation of Will’s return caused the conversation to pause, as the others were not sure what they were sensing. It was like they had to catch up with Will despite him not having gone anywhere. Ignatius sensed it however, even if only faintly. He was 5th dimensional with a reasonable amount of knowledge on how time worked, but even he was weirded out by this. There was going to be a talk with Zal-rint and Schwarzes later, no two ways about it. And despite needing to readjust to normal reality, Will was able to get into the MRAP just fine–he could have used a void door to head back to M.A.I.G., but figured it was best not to, given what he had just been through.
In the War Room, standing amongst the others, was Senator Russell Clifton Ripper. Russell had actually been a member of M.A.I.G. back in the 80s, having witnessed an event known as ‘The ACF-100 Incident.’ Ever since then he had been using his stellar track record with M.A.I.G. to climb the political ladder, eventually becoming a senator for New Hampshire. He had been a vocal supporter of The Liger Brigade throughout Hector Fang’s disastrous administration, and was always on the front lines shooting down any laws that dared violate the constitution, no matter how many times corrupt judges tried to rule such laws as ‘constitutional.’ Despite being older, Russell was doing great for his age–muscular with a head of healthy, combed brown hair, and looking like he was barely out of his thirties. He had been meaning to meet with Will for sometime, but his duties on the political battlefield kept him bust more often than not.
“WILL, MY BOY,” Russell announced with a clap. “On behalf of all New Hampshire, thank you for saving the city once again!” he said as he vigorously shook his hand, then gave him a hug with a good pat on the back.
“All in a day's work, Senator–of course I didn’t do it alone, haha!”
“Right you are, because you’ve got some of the best commanding officers and fellow agents around. I really wanted to be there for your award ceremony back in November, but I had to attend a meeting to discuss that repugnant age verification bill that somehow managed to survive past Hector’s death…”
Will shook his head. “That’s the thing about a lot of those nutcase politicians–they never give up even though they’ve lost–”
Reynard chuckled as he stood up. “You’d think those braindead attempts at section 230 repeals would have died out when that warhawk fossil, Graham Checkham, kicked the bucket… but no.”
Marcus cleared his throat so he could speak to the group, sensing the conversation going off on a tangent. “Will, I’d dare say all of you are in line for commendations again. And with Nobu… Dustin finally gone for good, mission complete.” There was a round of celebration and high fives amongst the group.
“Honestly I don’t even know why The Extinction Order even bothers at this point,” Antares declared with a chuckle.
Russell nodded, then turned his attention to Jun. “Jun Noguchi, a moment, please…”
“Yes, Senator?” he replied as he stepped over.
“I understand that you weren’t on the best terms with Nobu, but I’m sorry for your loss, my boy–we’ll arrange a proper funeral for him.”
Jun nearly cried at that moment, as he felt the pressure in his tear ducts, but he held it together once again. “Kokoro yori kansha itashimasu, Senator Ripper. I’ll be there.”
“Same here,” Ryota added as he patted Jun’s shoulder to keep him calm. “Nobu certainly caused us a world of trouble, but he didn’t deserve to go out like that…”
“This battle with The Extinction Order and Karnage Dethgrave is a grueling one,” Russell stated. “We’ve certainly got our work cut out with us–but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; You don’t mess with this senator.”
“It’s concerning that we’re seeing more nephilim in recent times,” Babe pointed out. “I’m praying to God that it’s just Ultinn, and not Satan starting to mobilize again.”
Susanno stroked his beared chin and let out an uncomfortable sigh. “We’ve been down this road before, Babe–whenever those foul creatures start moving, there’s always someone behind it. I wouldn’t be surprised if The Lost Darkness God has a new scheme brewing.”
“Are Paul, Wukong, and Cú Chulainn all in for this conflict?” Russell inquired.
“Of course they are,” Susanoo answered with pride. “We were up an at ‘em the minute Bethany was set free–”
“Hey…” Bethany cut in, causing the others to laugh. “Marcus, I got a beat on Uncle Val–want me to go get him?”
“If things are all clear…”
“I’d dare say that’s a yes,” Jackson answered as he finished talking to one of the soldiers from before.
“Alrighty then,” Bethany said as she vanished into thin air. “Be back soon!”
Antares then cleared his throat to get Will and Sam’s attention. “Will, Sam–you and the others stay here for just a little bit longer. I need to talk to Senator Ripper and Marcus, and I may need your guys' help.”
“Sure thing, Lt. Colonel, sir,” Will replied as he and the others walked off to a corner of the War Room so they could talk.
“Will, I watched that entire fight on the monitors,” Inkblot pointed out. “And wow… I need to step up my game if I’m going to be working with you.”
“Again, don’t worry, Inky–you’ve got this,” Aoife said as she patted his back.
“I can help you out with some training,” Mayhem offered as he held out his hand. “I’ve been through the thick of things, so I can definitely give you some good pointers.”
Inkblot happily accepted the offer with a handshake. “Sure, Mayhem–that’d be great. The nephilim are pretty nasty, no two ways about it… Jeez, I didn’t think we’d be going up against them…”
“A touchy subject, I take it?” Satsuki inquired.
“That’s putting it lightly,” Volt answered. “It's complicated and goes all the way back to The Rampage Wars and The Mount Hermon Incident. Aatos’ grandfather fought in those wars and witnessed every minute of the watcher rebellions.”
Adrien shook his head, always amazed when he heard about the conflicts involving Heaven and Inferno. “I’d dare say we’re past the point of no return, amigos. You ever get the feeling something big’s about to happen?”
Ludwig nodded. “All the time, annoyingly–and you’d think this feeling would’ve calmed down after Calamity Zero,” he put in as he stepped over with Jessica. “Will, Jun; Jessica is also interested in the guild, ha.”
“Really now?” Will asked. “Looking to join or just help out? We’re fine with either or.”
“I think I’m just going to lend a hand and make sure Jun doesn’t get himself hurt,” she answered as she rested her arm on Jun’s shoulder. “Plus I heard my father is active there.”
Russell did not require much of Sam and Will, just asking them a few things surrounding what they had noticed leading up to the mission. The League was on the case, and Susanoo let the couple know that he or any one of the Celestial Dragons would be around if any nephilim caused them trouble. Upon heading home, Orion got on his parent’s case once again, but was glad that they were back safe and sound. Will and Sam certainly had a lot to tell about the mission, and it was a relief that they could now, given that Antonio, Buster, and Olivia were more in the know. Will did not tell the others about his talk with Ernust, however. He did not even tell Sam the specifics with Ernust’s caution in mind. Truthfully Will was dreading going to Götterdämmerung, and he hoped the day would not come as fast as it did… Three days later, Will snuck out to the property line at the correct time, and created a special void door with Nosmirc’s help.
With a sigh, Will began to carefully turn the knob. “Alright, let’s just get this over with…” he muttered to himself as he stepped in.
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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“Geez, Dad–we leave you alone for two minutes…” Ignatius said as he tapped his foot with his hands on his hips. Barry had gone and retrieved some backup from The ULTRAMagic Guild, further consisting of Ludwig and Rostislav.
“What can I say, son?” Will said with hands up as Mayhem demerged from him. He glanced around at the battlefield, noting that not much had been harmed as the clean-up crew took care of the dead nephilim. “That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.”
“Well done, Specialist,” Ludwig said as he gave a respectful applause. “Definitely a vast improvement since Dust Gullet Gulch.”
Rostislav then took Will by the shoulders with his arm and swung him around a little. “Kicking ass, Will, no two ways about it!”
“Thanks, guys,” Will said with a chuckle. “Oh, have you all met Jun yet?” Will inquired as he indicated for Jun to walk over, with Volt following him.
“We’ve definitely heard of him,” Ludwig replied, shaking Jun’s hand. “Hallo, Jun, I am Captain Ludwig Liechenberg of the PMRDO, this is Private Rostislav Dracul, and Will’s son is Ignatius Darren Ford–”
“Just call me ‘Infinity,’” Ignatius added.
“Konnichiwa, all of you,” Jun replied as he shook the other’s hands.
“Same here,” Volt added as he shook their hands too.
“Subarashī!” Keisuke said as he hurried over. “Some of Will’s compatriots! A pleasure to meet you all–I’m Keisuke, Jun’s protector.”
“A kappa?” Rostislav said as he looked over at Ignatius. “For real?”
“Yup,” he replied.
“An honor to make your acquaintance, Keisuke,” Ludwig said with a polite bow. “Ahem, Barry–you and Will said Jun has potential?” This caught Jun off guard, leaving him a little speechless.
“Oh yeah, I did mention that, ha,” Barry said as he stepped away from some M.A.I.G. soldiers he was talking to. “If everything works out, we’ll have ULTRAMagic Trigger on our hands.”
Will nodded and patted Jun’s shoulder. “Kid’s definitely got potential–reminds me of me right before Red River in a way.”
Ludwig could sense that Jun had a lot on his shoulders, but could also tell just by looking at him that he had the makings of ULTRAMagic in him… and already seemed to have a couple of soul fragments–most likely from Volt and Keisuke, but also a third he could not quite place at the moment. “Would you like to join The ULTRAMagic Guild, Jun?”
Jun was stunned and honored, but did not want to be rude and boast. “But I don’t have ULTRAMagic yet…”
“Don’t worry, you’ll gain it super quick working with us,” Rostislav assured him.
“Tomato-kun’s joining the guild?!” Ryota exclaimed as he rushed over. “No way!”
“Ryota, long time no see!” Rostislav said as he high fived him multiple times.
“Great to see you all again too–don’t worry, Aoife has been getting on my case about visiting the guild again…”
She then walked over, albeit a little slowly as she limped over, having pulled something. “Seriously, Ryota, you really should swing by sometime, and bring Fianna too.”
“You going to be okay, mom?” asked Will.
“Don’t worry, Kiddo, I just need to apply some healing magic.”
Volt then cleared his throat as he had something he needed to say. “Well, if Trigger is going to join the guild, then he needs a new teacher…”
“What… What do you mean, Volt?” Jun asked.
“Jun, here…” Volt handed him a piece of paper with an address and a magick seal on it that pointed him in the direction of a house in Inferno. “I want you to add another devil to our team–my old mentor, Aatos Granite. He’s an earth devil and a little rough around the edges, but I think you’ll like him. As for me, I want to hang out with Will and his friends for a bit. This… won’t be an issue for you, Jun? I just… I just feel we both need to reorient our perspectives… if that’s the word for it.”
Jun studied the seal for a second, noting how it was scribbled on, which was on point for Volt. Still, it had an arcane energy to it that felt… right and grounded. He had to think about it for a second, and as he did, he realized that he needed to calm down–the world was in danger, but he was not going to get anywhere if he constantly poked a sleeping bear to save it. “Yeah, sure, Volt–I think that would be great for both of us. Think you can handle Volt, Will?”
“With ease,” he replied with a hand gesture that radiated coolness despite being a little nervous deep down. “Welcome to the team, Volt,” he said as he shook the devil’s hand.
“You’re in for a fun time, Voltage, no two ways about it,” Mayhem added as he also shook his hand. “Personally I think you should give Cliff Steele a call, as metal and electricity go well together, am I right?”
“Fine with me, I already like the sound of him,” Volt replied with a smile.
“Oh, Will,” Ryota interjected. “Can I take Haze off your hands for a little bit? It’s just that it’s been a while and I feel like we need to catch up a little–I’ll have him back to you by the squad meeting.”
“Fine with me–Haze?”
“Sure–don’t worry, I’ll make sure Ryota behaves.” That comment warranted some chuckles, especially from the guild mages.
“Boyo!” Sam called as she walked over. “Will, Jack says Senator Ripper is back at M.A.I.G. and wants to talk to you…” And in that moment everything distorted and slowed around the two… Time was not frozen, rather it felt like everything else had… slowed down? If that was the correct way to describe it… Or maybe they had slowed down?
“Sam? What’s going on here?”
She sighed and glanced down, then looked him in the eye. “Will, Ernust would like to talk to you for a second, and obviously he doesn’t want to do it around the others–Don’t worry, I… I fully trust him.”
Will could sense it was something important… and related to matters beyond Earth. “Alright… how do I get out of–” and before he could get an answer, Sam was blurred and faded, like she had left the space. “Right…”
Will wandered around for a bit, trying to find Ernust. It was surreal to walk through the city in the state he was in, as it felt like he was walking in a time that was never meant to exist–and every step was floaty and seemed like he was not actually there. Will eventually sensed something odd coming from the alley between Gustman’s Hardware and The Hardland Company… “You wanted to speak to me, Ernust?”
Ernust clapped with a smile, relieved to see Will had accepted his request for a talk. “Danke, Will–and my apologies for how sudden and bizarre this is…”
“What kind of magic is this? I know this isn’t chronomancy…”
Ernust glanced around and nodded–the brick walls surrounding them were fuzzy in a static-sort of way. “To be truthful, it’s less magic and more us occupying a time that is not supposed to exist–are you familiar with The Dead Gods?”
“I’ve… heard of them–something weird about how they existed for such a small amount of time that it’s practically impossible to study.”
“That is because they existed during The Dead Era–the time in between The Lost Era and The Void Era that only existed as a moment where time had yet to pass–or in this case start. The Time Void behaves similar to this. As for how I was able to bring us here, Akktak-Xaktalos shared some of his knowledge of time with me not too long ago…”
Will was not sure who that was, but felt that he was supposed to know who that god was regardless. “Right… So what's going on? Why did Sam tell me about this and then suddenly leave?”
Ernust chuckled and took a seat on a nearby crate, crossing his arms. “Well firstly, Morrigan is a member of The Eternal Order–”
“Wait, seriously? If you’re referring to Gore Bloodblade…”
Ernust nodded, even though it made Will a little uneasy. “Even if she didn’t realize it, that detestable Karnage had her join–and with her memories restored to her after Thorogor and Senot-drow’s spell wore off, Volf has been interested in employing her skills.”
“Volf Blitz, The Running God?”
“Ja.”
Will sighed. “Well, that explains why she said she trusts you–I take it you’re more aligned with Volf than Sebastian?”
“Indeed. Any rumors you may have heard about Sebastian once being a hermetic god who was a member of the early Eternal Order are also true–he was once The Despot God, and it goes without saying that Volf isn’t pleased with him given that he was brought in by The Behemoth God. I know Wendelin, Sebastian, and I all have a sordid past, but I am trying to bring Sebastian to a place where he can do some form of good instead of following in Karnage’s footsteps. I was Sebastian’s childhood friend after all, and I’ve stuck with him to try to save him…”
Will thought back to September and scoffed. “Good luck with that one–working with the Nazis isn't exactly a good look…”
“Ich weiß… I kept my hands clean back during the 30s and 40s–even helping the allies more often than not. Wendelin was mostly clean, and Sebastian isn’t exactly the villain he’s been painted out to be… disregarding the obvious.”
Will laughed in a mocking manner. “I was about to say MASSIVE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM!”
“Ja, ja. Will, if the worst man ever came up to you and offered to help out around the community in earnest, would you reject him?”
It took a second, but Will already had his answer in mind. “No… I grew up behind a real sleaze bag for way too long, but even I always said to myself that I would accept it if he came over, apologized, and donated to the poor or something like that… Sebastian’s not planning to do some community service, is he?”
Ernust shook his head. “It’s incredibly complicated, Will… I need you to see something…” He then handed him a roughed up slip of paper light brown in color. “Open a void door to those coordinates at the time listed and you will find yourself on Götterdämmerung. Stay hidden and you’ll see what I want to show you. I’d imagine going undetectable shouldn’t be a problem between Haze and The Undead God, but Wendelin will help if you need it…”
“I should be fine… you can’t tell me what it is right now?”
“Nein, it would cause too much trouble beforehand.”
Will stared Ernust in the eye, uncharacteristic for him given who he was… but that answer had sent a slight chill down his spine. “Fine, I’ll be there.”
Ernust got up and shook Will’s hand. “The Eye of Mimir will bless you for this, Will. And do not hesitate to call on me and Clara if you need help in the future.”
And in the blink of a moment, Will found himself back at the sight of the battle, talking with the group. It was the strangest transition imaginable, and Will had taken a moment to inspect himself… except nobody noticed this as Will had remained the way he was when Sam had talked to him. The sensation of Will’s return caused the conversation to pause, as the others were not sure what they were sensing. It was like they had to catch up with Will despite him not having gone anywhere. Ignatius sensed it however, even if only faintly. He was 5th dimensional with a reasonable amount of knowledge on how time worked, but even he was weirded out by this. There was going to be a talk with Zal-rint and Schwarzes later, no two ways about it. And despite needing to readjust to normal reality, Will was able to get into the MRAP just fine–he could have used a void door to head back to M.A.I.G., but figured it was best not to, given what he had just been through.
In the War Room, standing amongst the others, was Senator Russell Clifton Ripper. Russell had actually been a member of M.A.I.G. back in the 80s, having witnessed an event known as ‘The ACF-100 Incident.’ Ever since then he had been using his stellar track record with M.A.I.G. to climb the political ladder, eventually becoming a senator for New Hampshire. He had been a vocal supporter of The Liger Brigade throughout Hector Fang’s disastrous administration, and was always on the front lines shooting down any laws that dared violate the constitution, no matter how many times corrupt judges tried to rule such laws as ‘constitutional.’ Despite being older, Russell was doing great for his age–muscular with a head of healthy, combed brown hair, and looking like he was barely out of his thirties. He had been meaning to meet with Will for sometime, but his duties on the political battlefield kept him bust more often than not.
“WILL, MY BOY,” Russell announced with a clap. “On behalf of all New Hampshire, thank you for saving the city once again!” he said as he vigorously shook his hand, then gave him a hug with a good pat on the back.
“All in a day's work, Senator–of course I didn’t do it alone, haha!”
“Right you are, because you’ve got some of the best commanding officers and fellow agents around. I really wanted to be there for your award ceremony back in November, but I had to attend a meeting to discuss that repugnant age verification bill that somehow managed to survive past Hector’s death…”
Will shook his head. “That’s the thing about a lot of those nutcase politicians–they never give up even though they’ve lost–”
Reynard chuckled as he stood up. “You’d think those braindead attempts at section 230 repeals would have died out when that warhawk fossil, Graham Checkham, kicked the bucket… but no.”
Marcus cleared his throat so he could speak to the group, sensing the conversation going off on a tangent. “Will, I’d dare say all of you are in line for commendations again. And with Nobu… Dustin finally gone for good, mission complete.” There was a round of celebration and high fives amongst the group.
“Honestly I don’t even know why The Extinction Order even bothers at this point,” Antares declared with a chuckle.
Russell nodded, then turned his attention to Jun. “Jun Noguchi, a moment, please…”
“Yes, Senator?” he replied as he stepped over.
“I understand that you weren’t on the best terms with Nobu, but I’m sorry for your loss, my boy–we’ll arrange a proper funeral for him.”
Jun nearly cried at that moment, as he felt the pressure in his tear ducts, but he held it together once again. “Kokoro yori kansha itashimasu, Senator Ripper. I’ll be there.”
“Same here,” Ryota added as he patted Jun’s shoulder to keep him calm. “Nobu certainly caused us a world of trouble, but he didn’t deserve to go out like that…”
“This battle with The Extinction Order and Karnage Dethgrave is a grueling one,” Russell stated. “We’ve certainly got our work cut out with us–but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; You don’t mess with this senator.”
“It’s concerning that we’re seeing more nephilim in recent times,” Babe pointed out. “I’m praying to God that it’s just Ultinn, and not Satan starting to mobilize again.”
Susanno stroked his beared chin and let out an uncomfortable sigh. “We’ve been down this road before, Babe–whenever those foul creatures start moving, there’s always someone behind it. I wouldn’t be surprised if The Lost Darkness God has a new scheme brewing.”
“Are Paul, Wukong, and Cú Chulainn all in for this conflict?” Russell inquired.
“Of course they are,” Susanoo answered with pride. “We were up an at ‘em the minute Bethany was set free–”
“Hey…” Bethany cut in, causing the others to laugh. “Marcus, I got a beat on Uncle Val–want me to go get him?”
“If things are all clear…”
“I’d dare say that’s a yes,” Jackson answered as he finished talking to one of the soldiers from before.
“Alrighty then,” Bethany said as she vanished into thin air. “Be back soon!”
Antares then cleared his throat to get Will and Sam’s attention. “Will, Sam–you and the others stay here for just a little bit longer. I need to talk to Senator Ripper and Marcus, and I may need your guys' help.”
“Sure thing, Lt. Colonel, sir,” Will replied as he and the others walked off to a corner of the War Room so they could talk.
“Will, I watched that entire fight on the monitors,” Inkblot pointed out. “And wow… I need to step up my game if I’m going to be working with you.”
“Again, don’t worry, Inky–you’ve got this,” Aoife said as she patted his back.
“I can help you out with some training,” Mayhem offered as he held out his hand. “I’ve been through the thick of things, so I can definitely give you some good pointers.”
Inkblot happily accepted the offer with a handshake. “Sure, Mayhem–that’d be great. The nephilim are pretty nasty, no two ways about it… Jeez, I didn’t think we’d be going up against them…”
“A touchy subject, I take it?” Satsuki inquired.
“That’s putting it lightly,” Volt answered. “It's complicated and goes all the way back to The Rampage Wars and The Mount Hermon Incident. Aatos’ grandfather fought in those wars and witnessed every minute of the watcher rebellions.”
Adrien shook his head, always amazed when he heard about the conflicts involving Heaven and Inferno. “I’d dare say we’re past the point of no return, amigos. You ever get the feeling something big’s about to happen?”
Ludwig nodded. “All the time, annoyingly–and you’d think this feeling would’ve calmed down after Calamity Zero,” he put in as he stepped over with Jessica. “Will, Jun; Jessica is also interested in the guild, ha.”
“Really now?” Will asked. “Looking to join or just help out? We’re fine with either or.”
“I think I’m just going to lend a hand and make sure Jun doesn’t get himself hurt,” she answered as she rested her arm on Jun’s shoulder. “Plus I heard my father is active there.”
Russell did not require much of Sam and Will, just asking them a few things surrounding what they had noticed leading up to the mission. The League was on the case, and Susanoo let the couple know that he or any one of the Celestial Dragons would be around if any nephilim caused them trouble. Upon heading home, Orion got on his parent’s case once again, but was glad that they were back safe and sound. Will and Sam certainly had a lot to tell about the mission, and it was a relief that they could now, given that Antonio, Buster, and Olivia were more in the know. Will did not tell the others about his talk with Ernust, however. He did not even tell Sam the specifics with Ernust’s caution in mind. Truthfully Will was dreading going to Götterdämmerung, and he hoped the day would not come as fast as it did… Three days later, Will snuck out to the property line at the correct time, and created a special void door with Nosmirc’s help.
With a sigh, Will began to carefully turn the knob. “Alright, let’s just get this over with…” he muttered to himself as he stepped in.
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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