Chapter Foutry Three: Entering Combat.

"A gun." (presents handgun) "load it," (cocks gun) "aim it," (points at Draco) "fire it." Boom.

"gyk-!" thump

"Cut! that was supposed to be a blank! somebody call the paramedics!"

-Collin.

-Draco.

-emperorwolf. (as a director) :D

999, Collin, Benson, Kenziel, Oriado, Kevin, Norido, Patrick, Syrus, and Carl followed the tunnel of purple light around the orbit of the sun, heading for earth.
collin's mind was flooding with his memories of when he was still completely human, of the fun times he had with his family, his friends...
he remembered then, that they now believed he was dead, that he'd been killed one night in the dark, when, in truth, he'd been transported to Xlen and become Neowolf.

he put on the eyemask.
"there's... no turning back... is there?"
999 shook his head "no... in a two minutes, we'll be fighting..."
he turned back to them "thank you... i'm proud to fight alongside you all."

the blue planet drew nearer, and nearer, until they pierced its atmosphere.

they landed in a dark, ominous facility.
green lights gave an eerie feel to every shadow, a sense of foreboding pervaded the area.

benson's green eye lit up.
"woah...."

he could see a massive fog of blue; fear.
he used the blue eye.

"oh... crap..."
oriado looked at him "what?"
"a floor above us... thousands... thousands of people..."
he could see thousands upon thousands of people, many of them had a second soul orbiting their own, a tether-like thread trailing off their 'hearts' up into a huge orb hanging from the ceiling.
he decribed what he saw to everyone.
999 groaned "that's where our bodies are... where all one thousand of us pilot the DSBIWO..."
carl looked thoughtful "they're machines, right? the pods, i mean."
999 nodded.
"so, machines need power, these shouldn't be any different, should they?"
it sounded logical, but there was an issue...

"won't work. the pods run off an internal power supply."
"so... how won't it work?"
"the power supply is Dysonix's mortal body. we can't disconnect him while he's Astroplaning... it'd be... Bad..."
"how bad?" syrus asked
"as in, 'Destroy half the planet' bad."
everyone jerked back.
benson rubbed his muzzle in thought "hrmmmm... what if we... could someone coax him back?"
"coax?" 999 scratched his head "coax... coax..." after a bit of thought, his emerald-green eyes widened and he grinned "maybe, just maybe... i might be able to wake him! DSBIWO have Dysonix's blood, he should be able to detect my presence as if i'm just a part of him!!"

999 clamped his paws to his muzzle, realising he'd yelled. "shit!" he groaned through clenched teeth.
but to no avail, as fourty black coloured, DSBIWO-esque featureless drones poured in from behind, the left, and the right of them.
999 dug his armoured claws into his own muzzle "Fuckdammit..." he winced, drawing his own blood "... sorry guys, i blew it..."
everyone took offensive stances.
kevin growled "never mind that, get going, go wake 'im up!"
oriado nodded down at him "we're dependin' on ya!"
999 groaned "okay... just, please..." the brown wolf prepared to leap away "don't die."
he flew through the air at speed, leaving them to fend for themselves.
Heritos and the other 16 assistants stood firm "go, we'll hold them off."
Norido gasped "wh- you're sure?"
the blue feline nodded "you got a job to do, and if you don't do it, we'll never be free... go on, we'll stop them."
carl scooped up syrus, who pushed a button on his gazer "okay, let's go!"

they bolted off, leaving the assistants to fight.

heritos grinned smugly "alright, you freaky dolls, get set to get smashed!"
Bordos summoned a huge hammer "you got that right, blue-boy! no-one leave a single one of 'em standing!"

---

999 hurriedly flew through the corridors, following a faint feeling pulsing through his heart, the feeling of some kind of tether leading to a similar pulsating presence.

(dammit! this is terrifying!) 999 thought to himself, he was afraid, however, with good reason, for as he got progressively closer to the presence, a heavy, weighted atmosphere increased in strength, eventually forcing the wolf to the ground, and struggle his way further.
he expected that his knees would give out at any moment from the intense gravity, but he pressed on, determined to find Dysonix.

eventually, he found himself in a large, circular room, where, in the centre, levitating, was a white-haired young child wearing a black trenchcoat, and white jeans, with one red boot and one blue one.

"D- Dy...so...n! Dy...Son!!" 999 struggled to speak, the opressive G-forces crushing him down with each passing milisecond.
he grit his teeth, and delved deep inside himself, locating a sea of untapped power.
"Fuck... THIS!"
he released the binds on the power, and felt the energy flood his body.
he stood firm, standing easier against the pressure.
"Dyson! Albert Dyson! WAKE UP!!"
he felt his paws heat up, and then they burst with flame
"WAKE UP!!"
he let the flames grow, until the fire-warning system turned on, and the child's sapphire and ruby eyes shot open. "Who's there!?"
"I... AM...!"
he looked over to the wolf and gasped "999?! what--?!"
"no time! un...hook... yourself! we're here... to destroy... this place!!"
dyson lowered himself down to the floor, only reaching as high as 999's abdomen in terms of height.
"999... you released the seals!"
the wolf averted his gaze.
"you could die from the strain of the power!"
"not important... we need to save... Xlen... from PL..."
dyson grimaced, but nodded "but... my Eidolon..."
999 turned away "Eidolon... or not... just... don't let... the Annihilator... fire!"
the wolf ran as fast as he could, dyson turned back towards his input system, and set to work absorbing digital data and electrical energy into his body.
"if he can do this... stand up to him... then... So can I!"
a purple flame enveloped him, and he bellowed, his voice distorted...
"EIDOLON: DYSONIX SUPREMUS MAXIMA!"

---

benson ran up the staircase, and found himself standing before millions of rows of little glass pods...
"oh... shit!"
inside each one was a human in a black suit and visor with cords and wires coming off their bodies, and each pod was numbered.

Kevin, Oriado, And Norido came to the top of the stairs, having a similar reaction.
"where's his pod?!" the pather asked, overwhelmed.
kevin was looking around frantically "i can't see it!"
oriado caught movement out of the corner of his eye, a flash of blue.
"what's that?"
he pointed, and the other two canines looked, then growled.

"bravo, bravo, you mutts, you've managed to lead youreslves to your own deaths!" sneered an overconfident Jack, with DSBIWO 101-997 behind him.
"would you like to undergo our punishment for tresspass?"
benson snarled "shut up!"
"i'll take that as a yes."

suddenly, a foul smelling gass billowed in through the vents around them
benson hacked and coughed "what... is... this stuff?!"
jack, like the DSBIWO, wore an O2 mask "moronic mutt! it's Marasmus vapour! breathe even a hint of it in, and it's all over, rotted from the iside out, decaying like a corpse while still alive!"

kevin wheezed, going lightheaded and feeling as if his lungs were on fire, his throat burned as well.
oriado fell to his knees in agony "my cough my insides...!"
Norido nearly fainted "my... cells are breaking apart...!"

jack laughed cruelly "Death comes for you!"
suddenly, the air parted, the foul smog cleaved in two.
Kenziel stood on the far side of the room, golden scythe in hand, smirking "no, i've met death, their time is not now, he's not coming yet!"
benson wheezed "jeez cough you friggin look like cough death, man!"
the angel shrugged "well, i was once."
he lifted into the air, his wingbeats somehow driving the thick veil away.
Draco ran in, sparking with ebony lightning "Brother! Fight Me!"
jack growled, and leapt over the high railing, darting off in draco's direction, drawing his sketchpad as draco created a lightning blade, before they vanished through a vortex that sprang from jack's pad.

as the brothers clashed, the DSBIWO were joined by replacements for the first 1-100, along with the 1000th, who they recognised from the news.
and finally, a tall, pale-skinned man in a dark coat.
patrick and collin ran in, the white wolf immediately glaring and snarling at the pale man.
"you look like that guy 999 described... 'Harbinger'... wasan't it?"
he sneered at them "indeed i am. but, can you best me? i have a legion of soldiers designed for mass annihilation on my side, how can you possibly win?"
patrick smirked "'cause there aren't one thousand of them, you're missing two!"

"wrong."

in from the shadows, stepped a man with a featureless white mask, and a heavy-looking grey cloak.
patrick's smile faded, and he felt the blood drain from his face.
"you... you're... no, no you can't be?!"
"but i am, only my DSBIWO was destroyed by that dog... not my true self!"
collin stepped back in fear "it's... it's him..."
he trembled in horror "The Masked Genocist, Issello Walter Shay!"
"also known as subject #998, in this world, you buffoon!"

the white wolf whimpered, tail tucked and ears flat to his scalp.
"we're outmatched! we can't fight numbers 001 - 998, and number #1000! we're doomed!!"

"get real!"

a heavy boom sounded as the red-armoured, brown wolf landed in between 'the legion' and 'the pack'
"they might be called a legion, but without the nine-hundredth and ninety-ninth unit, they're not so great!"

harbinger's smug grin turned to a detestful frown "subject number #999... how utterly... nice... of you to join us... now, be a good weapon, and join with your true allies! return to us, you can have the glory of leading your own kind to victory!!"
999 shook his head "y'know what i say to that, Harbinger? i say: Go Fucking Kill Yourself."
the pale man laughed cruelly "you forget your place! or maybe, that whenever you log-out, that your DSBIWO transmits its new information directly to us? well?"
999's expression turned bleak "you don't mean...?"
harbinger's features began to distort, as did his voice...
"all of existance foretells of his arrival, giving him their souls as he announces the new age of darkness, he annihilates all who stand before him, the embodioment of destruction, and herald of your doom... THE HARBINGER OF ARMEGGEDDON!"

a familiar wind whipped up around him, his body morphing grotesquely.

"shit... i've really blown it!" 999 panicked "they got the data on Gliloutation!!"

when the winds subsided, harbinger had become some kind of horrible, gigantic five-headed tiger with a double set of bat's wings, two bull's horns on each head, revolving chainsaw-like fangs in each of his five mouths, and a snake's tail in place of a lower body.
two heads had beaks in place of muzzles.

999 crept back in both terror and revulsion "fuck..."

Harbinger loosed an echoing torrent of snide laughter "do you see now? it is hopeless! i am also the very first of the legion, and the mightiest of them all, i am the Secret Weapon, Subject Number #0, with an empty, void of a soul, and infinite power coursing through my veins!!"

a loud rumbling started, as each and every other legionnaire activated gliloutation, the transmogrificative winds changing them into a variety of creatures.

suddenly, a loud crash rang out overhead, as the looming orb cracked and went dark.
each of the legionaires' eyes cleared, going from glassy white to normal, albiet with red irises.

999 smirked cautiously "yes! they're free!"
carl could be seen in the rafters above the orb, and shouted to the now freed legion "RUN! GET YOUR SYNTHETIC TAILS OUTTA HERE!"
they darted away, and harbinger scowled at the brown wolf "you worthless insect! i'll dissect you personally!"
harbinger swung his immense tail, crashing into 999 and knocking him flat, then continuing on to bludgeon the giants nearby, and lashed out with his taloned paws at collin and patrick, he clipped kenziel's wings with his fangs...

soon, harbinger had them all knocked down, injured and bleeding, even syrus and carl.
he bellowed in malicious laughter "see now? you cannot stop me! you deserve naught but death!"
his five heads opened their mouths, pitch black spheres forming in each one and sparking with malevonent energy.

999 couldn't move, he felt as if his bones had been reduced to dust
(dammit... not here... not here!) he started to cry (... it's all over... if he fires that attack we're all as good as dead...)

Don't you dare!!

he snapped out of thought, he could swear he'd just heard the voice of his best friend...

(l... L-B? ... is that you...?)

collin heard another voice...
you said you'd protect us!!
he identified it as Verona's voice.

(what the...? Mrs khyber? verona? ... why are you...?)

patrick heard his father's voice...
get up! get up!! don't take defeat lying down!! get up and fight! i know you're not beaten yet, son!!!

(dad... how?)

kevin heard his family cry out for him...
SON! DON'T GIVE IN! DON'T DIE!! YOU PROMISED ME, DIDN'T YOU?!

kevin! i'm so sorry! i should have been a better mother, i should have accepted you no matter what! i promise that if you come back alive, i'll be more supportive of you and your... your husband! i mean it, kevin!!

Little brother!! don't close your eyes yet! mackie and i are engaged, and i want you to be there on my wedding day! please, if you only ever do one thing i ask, let it be this!!!

KEVIN!!! don't die, big bro, DON'T DIE!

(Father... Mother... Jenny... Norman... you're... how are...?)

kenziel heard amelia shouting at him angrily, but with a hint of desperation, sadness, and fear...
DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! YOU GET UP, AND WIN! SO I CAN STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO BOP YOU ONE FOR THINKING OF GIVING UP! AND THEN I'LL HUG YOU FOR COMING BACK TO ME! I LOVE YOU, DAMMIT, I LOVE YOU!!

(amelia... do you really mean that? ... i'd like that... i'd like that a lot...)

the terrified voices of Xavier and Jeremiah reached Oriado...
PLEASE GET UP!! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SHOWED ME GIANTS CAN BE GENTLE! YOU NEED TO SHARE THAT WITH THE WORLD!

DON'T DO THIS! YOU'RE AN AMAZING GUY, YOU'RE SO COOL! DON'T DIE!!!

(those two... rooting for me?)

syrus heard the commanding voice of General Davis...
GET UP, NATURAL! YOU SAID WE WERE EQUALS ONCE, NOW PROVE IT! I WOULDN'T EVEN GIVE DEFEAT A NANOSECOND IN MY MIND, GET UP AND KILL THAT FREAK!

(davis... you really... you mean that?)

carl heard the voices of his sister, brother in law, and all his old friends from boarding school...
DON'T! WE KNOW YOU, BLENIN! AND YOU'D NEVER LET SOMEONE BEAT YOU!!

Then, came the voice of Jason Quillin...
i thought you saved him for a reason? you might hate me, but i'm sure you'd never put that squirt of an otter in danger! you fucking dropkicked me twice! do the same to this monster!!

(all of them... even him... they're...)

Benson heard a terrified voice, one unmistakably belonging to Lily...
Benny! don't leave me! i can't live without you!! don't leave our children without their father!!

(she's right...) "i can't... give... up!!"

kori's voice came to him...
i can't bear to see you taken down by that guy... that's MY honour! don't rob me, step-bro!

"i'll never... surrender!!!"

999 pushed himself up shakily "he's... waiting... i make a point... not to keep... my friends waiting!!"

collin started to rise "i never... break... my promises!"

patrick changed into canine form "i'll make... my father proud!"

kevin and oriado helped each other up
the german shepherd grit his teeth "i won't... abandon my family!"
the black and white wolf grimaced, but nevertheless stood firm "i Will show them!"

kenziel weakly flapped his marred wings, rising slowly "i'll let her... have the chance!"

syrus gripped carl's facial fur, pulling himself up with one of carl's whiskers "i can prove it! i'll never give in!"
carl started pushing himself up, settling syrus onto his nose "i Will protect him, i won't let anyone hurt him and get away with it!"

benson's eyes turned golden, and with new strength, he rose to his feet "I REFUSE TO LEAVE HER LIKE THIS!"

norido staggered to his feet "ori... i'll... i'll help!"

they stood firm, determined not to let harbinger kill them.

a white haired young boy flew in "FATHER! i can't let you hurt them anymore!"
999's focus, as well as harbinger's, was drawn to the boy.
the monster scowled, and uttered only a single, few words before committing the unbelievable...
"die, traitorous son."
he fired the evil energy at dyson.
acting on instinct, 999 rocketed into the path of the energy...

KA-BLAM!!!!!!!

999 took the full brunt of the attack, his DSBIWO body beginning to desintegrate...
dyson panicked "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"
the wolf smiled painedly "because... i won't let... a father... harm his son... not even... harbinger and you..."
everyone looked on in horror as everything but his upper torso desintegrated...
"there's one thing... i can do...!" he grinned "i can... break Gliloutation on all its users!!"
he exploded in a flash of blinding light, and harbinger writhed in agony, cracks forming across his body.

collin looked himself over, and saw neither his human features, nor cracks.
"what? shouldn't i be...?"

"Hell no! you deserve that power, but my assistants who hate it, and this freak, they'll get no such gift!!"

they all looked around, surprised.
"999?!"

a familiar chuckle from the rafters above drew their attention.
a teenage male, with brown hair, wearing a black suit and visor, stood strong.
emblazoned upon his back were three shining, golden nines.
"that's my number, don't wear it out!"
something flew out of kevin's pocket, up to the human.

it was the emperor's crown, now fully re-gemmed and shining in the light.

"funny thing 'bout gliloutation, it's not the body it connects to... It's the soul!!"

harbinger panicked "NO!!"

"the universe bows to the ruling one, as he hides away his identity from the world, keeping even his true name a mystery to himself, entrusting his destiny to the tides of fate as they churn and toss him around in life... revealing his true nature to those he trusts, and those he cares for, he takes the throne in order to protect them from those who mean them harm, he is I, and i am... THE EMPEROR!"

the cerulean winds transformed him, switching out his dark suit for the nobleman's clothing, his tail sprouted, his ears shifted and morphed, he sprouted soft brown fur across his skin, his head sretched into a distictly lupine shape, his visor fell away and his Hazel eyes turned green, and his purple cape appeared with a flourish around his neck.
a shiny golden scythe formed in his gloved paws.
and, to top it all off, he once more donned his golden crown over his right ear.

a glittering flourescent yellow light trailed off his body "i'm back! and, i'm stronger than ever!"
benson chuckled "Crazy! that's you in one word; CRAZY!"
he shrugged "well, isn't everybody a bit crazy sometimes?"
he pointed the scythe at the de-mutating harbinger, now with only three heads, no wings, and was at regular size once more.

"make a note, harby, next time you wanna destroy a world, don't use people against their wills!"
harbinger glared "GO TO HELL!" he hissed "i hope you realise, now i will use the annihilator Cannon!"
999 lost his smirk, and quickly looked at dyson "did you manage to...?"
the white haired child shook his head sadly.

the orb above them crackled with energy, and fired a powerful bolt of blackness into the sky, crashing through the roof.

harbinger cackled, but stopped abruptly as the ferociously snarling brown wolf pressed the tip of the scythe to his chest, over his heart.
"oh, you just fucked up bad, you prick, you fucked up BIGTIME."
a dark veil surrounded the wolf and mutant snake-tiger-thing, obsuring them from sight.
a blood curdling scream rang out, and was cut short by the gruesome sound of meat being roughly cleaved apart... multiple times...
Three, to be precise...
notably, one for each of Harbinger's heads...

999 stepped out of the shadows, his scythe's blade bloodied, and he looked up forlornly at the beam.
"it'll hit Xlen and kill everyone on it..."

benson growled "can't we stop it?!"

there was a faint whirl sound from behind them.
they turned to see draco, heritos, and a tied-up jack.
"you can not..."
"but... we can..." the blue feline finished.

999's ears folded "i'm sorry, heritos..."
"don't be. it's a decision i've made; neither Earth or Xlen have anything left for me, so, why not?"
he nodded "thank you heri-... i mean, thank you... Alihadin."
heritos smiled, and another vortex opened behind him.
draco grabbed jack.
"our atonement."

everyone knew what he meant.

the three of them fell backwards into the vortex, and the beam collided with something, and stopped.

but before they could mourn, the cieling began to cave in.
benson shouted the order "EVERYONE OUT!"

(next chapter: a noble Sacrifice for the good of one's friends...)