Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny ❯ Fall of the Abh Story, part 3: End of an Empire ( Chapter 27 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer:
This fic uses characters, places, themes from franchises that are the property of others. I do not own these franchises.

Special Thanks to:
Charles Xavier, Fanfiction.net author: For writing an awesome crossover with anime and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Suikosource website: for providing great information that made this fic possible.

The Anime Margin: 108 Stars of Destiny
By: RB3

Fall of the Abh Story, part 3: End of an Empire

Once the Toons withdrew from El Hazard, they took all of their ships and troops stationed there. Now, only a small handful of Abh ships remained in the area. With the civil war raging in the Blue Stars, the Abh insurgent forces could not afford to keep as many ships to defend the planet. Knowing this, a Valiance space fleet descended on the area. The Abh ships sprang into action, firing upon the Valiance raiders. Valiance M1 Astrays burst out of the hangar of the Crimson Egg to meet the enemy.

They circled one of the Abh ships and pelted it with beam gun fire. The Abh ship returned fire, unable to hit the more evasive, manoeuvrable mobile suits. The Abh ship launched a nuclear warhead at the Crimson Egg. It exploded upon hitting the shielding, causing the ship to shudder. Fortunately, that shielding absorbed the brunt of the impact. The Crimson Egg retaliated with its beam cannons. The beam hit accurately, but was absorbed by the Abh ship's shielding. More beams impacted the shielding until they collapsed under the stress.

The battle was over swiftly and Valiance controlled space. "Ma'am, all enemy ships have been destroyed," reported Dr. Eggman.

Misato listened to Dr. Eggman's report from her quarters. "Good work. Deploy all ground forces at the designated location."

The Crimson Egg and its fleet entered orbit around El Hazard. Dozens of smaller ships and pods descended towards the sandy surface of El Hazard. On the ground, the resistance had already begun its attack on the Abh and Omnipotence occupiers. Thousands of Bugrom and Roshtarian soldiers marched on the capital of Roshtaria, Florestica. Bolts of light streaked through the air from Abh and Omnipotence energy guns. The enemy had positioned itself within several buildings in the Roshtarian capital. While they had the advantage in weapons, the rebels had the advantage in sheer numbers.

The enemy fired on a Bugrom squad, felling it easily through sheer firepower. A Roshtarian soldier troop swarmed an Abh firing squad and stabbed the men to death. The screams and cries of war echoed throughout the city. The rebel forces had entered the city and taken positions in the suburbs. The enemy line kept the rebel forces at bay in the eastern district with neither side able to gain more ground. Florestica burned and smoke billowed from its formerly pristine homes. In the sky, several shooting stars soared across the sky.

"Look, our allies has arrived!" cried one soldier.

The sight of Valiance drop ships sent a surge of high morale rippling through the rebel ranks. Over the horizon, the first glimpses of the Valiance army appeared over the sandy dunes. The rebels redoubled their attack, grinding against the enemy line. Arrows soared out of a restaurant and at a coffee shop across the street. Abh and Omnipotence soldiers returned fire, scorching the side of the restaurant. An arrow caught the body of an Abh who peeked out to fire from the second story window. The Abh landed on the ground with a thud.

Faust made his way to the coffee shop. The enemy opened fire but were unable to penetrate the barriers of bone around his body. Faust hurled balls of bone into the windows. One zinged by a soldier's head as it landed inside. The soldier peeked out to return fire, unaware that the balls were unfolding into animate skeletons. When the man finally noticed the sound of rattling bones, it was too late. Outside, Faust could only hear several terrified screams coming from inside. The skeletons casually walked out and escorted Faust deeper into Florestica.

Valiance's heroes and soldiers were the ones who turned the tide of the battle. Over the next three hours, the combined rebel-Valiance forces pushed deeper into Florestica. Soon, they had cornered the last of the Abh and Omnipotence forces within the royal castle. The enemy fired down on the liberators from the castle ramparts. Trunks descended on the ramparts, drawing enemy fire to him.

He sidestepped the shots so quickly that a faint contrail was the only sign that he had moved at all. He closed distance on the enemy and kicked one off of the ramparts. Another tried to shoot at him, but he dodged again. He fired a ki beam which hurled him into side of a tower. More men tried to shoot him, but he was still too fast. Trunk closed the distance and demolished their ranks with rapid-fire martial arts moves.

Down below, the assembled Bugrom and Roshtarians pummelled the gate with a battering ram. The thick, log-like tool slammed into the door with a thud. Cracks began to form on the gate as it wore down under the strain. After a final slam, the gate burst open. Hundreds of Bugrom and Roshtarians flooded into the palace grounds. The enemy took positions to meet them, starting a chaotic firefight and melee.

The bodies of both sides began to pile up in the courtyard, but the enemy's were greater in number. The Bugrom and Roshtarian forces pushed deeper into the castle ramparts. There were already several bodies lying around from the efforts of Trunks and other heroes. At the highest point, the soldiers raised the flag of Roshtaria, a golden, abstract picture of the imperial palace on a white background. The wind picked up and the flag fluttered with the ebb and flow of air.

---

Within moments after liberating El Hazard, Valiance immediately turned their attention to the Great Blue. This world of high seas adventure had already seen its share of turmoil. The Eye of God had devastated one of its most important islands, the seat of the World Government. Very little was left after that attack. All that remained was a massive crater. After the Abh landed and took over, they caused even more harm through repression.

The Abh had set up their main headquarters in Enies Lobby, which neighboured the great town of Water 7. This town was like the Great Blue's version of Venice, Italy. Several canals ran through this colourful city, designed to be like a gigantic fountain. Canals ran around the centre in concentric rings. At certain points, water flowed down the side to a lower level like a waterfall. The inhabitants traversed in creatures known as "Bulls," seahorses which were attached to boats.

After wiping out the Abh presence in space, Valiance was able to drop troops onto the city. Like flaming meteors, the drop ships descended onto the city with a loud thud. Abh soldiers rushed to meet the pods and neutralize whatever emerged from them. Positioned in buildings and behind cover along streets, the Abh pelted the drop ships with energy fire. The ships in turn fired back on the Abh with their cannons. Under the cover of their ship's fire, soldiers rushed out to meet enemy troops.

Naga led a squad of Saillune troops out of her drop ship. She and her fellow priests and priestesses shielded their advance with barriers of white magic. Unable to penetrate these barriers, the enemy troops were swarmed by the Saillune troops. Magicians prepared powerful spells and hurled them into the window on the second floor of a bakery. The spells exploded with a deafening boom, wiping out all who were hiding inside. Naga flung a Freeze Blitz which froze solid half a dozen enemy soldiers in a single blow.

The Valiance forces swept through the city, wiping out Abh forces each step of the way. Luffy hurled an Abh into a building. At the same time, Zolo cut down three more. Luffy heard an explosion come from nearby. When he and Zolo went to investigate, they found a huge man fighting Abh in the neighbouring street. The blue-haired man wore swimming briefs, a Hawaiian shirt, and a pair of sunglasses above his eyes. He was somewhat hairy and was quite muscular. The man pulled off his arm, revealing a gun's muzzle underneath. A blast of pressurized air burst out, flattening a squad of Abh.

"Franky?" asked Luffy.

"Hey hey Luffy, am I glad to see you!" replied Franky, breaking out in to joyous dance. "Once these guys took over the town, I thought you might show up soon. When the fighting started, me and the family decided to join in on the fun."

"Oh yeah! So does this mean you're going to help us?" asked Luffy.

"Yep, I've got your back. Lead the way," said Franky.

Luffy led the Straw Hat Pirates down the streets of Water 7 with new ally Franky close behind. Their goal was the Sea Train, a special railway which ran over the surface of the ocean to Enies Lobby. The Sea Train was of tactical importance to the Valiance forces. Water 7 was to serve as a beachhead. Valiance command wanted the Sea Train to transport more troops into Enies Lobby.

As they rushed down the street, an Abh patrol bumped into them. Zolo slashed his sword with such force as hurl a shockwave of air. It cut down two of the men in a single stroke. Franky fired blasts of air into the men, flattening another in a single shot. From cover, Usopp picked off yet another two with his slingshot. Chopper transformed into a hulking, monstrous version of himself and waded into battle. He ripped a nearby railing and smashed it into the Abh.

After dispatching the last of the Abh, Nami put away her staff. She pointed at a station several metres down the street. "It's just up ahead!" cried Nami.

The group reached the Sea Train without any further attack by the Abh and stood guard around it. The explosions and gunshots became lest frequent, indicating that the fighting was dying down. When Valiance captured Water 7, Jinnai showed up to check on their status. "Ah so you've got the Sea Train intact, I see," remarked Jinnai.

"Yep, piece of cake!" said Luffy.

Several guards arrived to relieve the Straw Hat Pirates of their post. "Good work. We'll begin the attack on Enies Lobby in six hours. You're on break 'til then," said Jinnai.

The Straw Hat Pirates made a trip to the local bar, a typical mortar and wood pub filled with pirates and other seafarers. The floors and tables were made of wood and coated with finish for gloss. It was filled with Valiance soldiers on break. In the corner nearest the window, Lina Inverse wolfed down plates of food like the rest of her companions. They were the biggest slobs around with awful table manners to match. With each frantic bite they took, they would scatter bits of food all over the table and on anyone who came too close to them.

"Whoa, I didn't think anyone could love my cooking this much," said Sanji with eyes agape.

A noodle flew to neighbouring table nearly hitting Kagome in the eye. "Hey! That nearly hit me!" she cried to the other table.

"What a pig!" remarked Shippo.

She held her empty plate to beg for food. "Mmm, more please!" requested Lina with a smile.

"Coming up!" said Sanji.

"Well, he's happy," said Zolo. Luffy laughed at the big plate of spaghetti in front of him. "...And so's the captain." Zolo looked around and saw Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, Franky, and some Franky Family members at his table. Sanji was busy cooking and serving food in the mess hall. Nami was the only one unaccounted for.

Nami met with Misato and General Jinnai. She had unrolled a map of the area she had created the last time she was at Enies Lobby. "This is where the Sea Train disembarks on Enies Lobby," said Nami, pointing to a marking dot. "There are three large gates on the way to the Navy's headquarters. One is the front door, just outside of the Sea Train station. The second is across the bridge and leads into the court. The third and final gate is after the Judicial Tower across a bridge."

"Ma'am, the enemy will likely have troops stationed around the Sea Train station and along the walls. If we send our troops through that way, they'll be sitting ducks for enemy fire," said Jinnai. "I recommend that we have the Crimson Egg begin bombarding the area around the Sea Train station. Following that, I'd like to send the Evas and a contingent of troops to secure the area as a beachhead."

"Very well, begin the bombardment as soon as possible," ordered Misato.

In the space above the Great Blue, the Crimson Egg received the orders. Its cannons glowed with blue light and expelled beams of pure energy. They descended onto the enemy like a streak of light. To them, it must have seemed like divine retribution. The beam blasted a crater into the street, incinerating several soldiers. Another streaked down from the sky, tearing through a building. Despite having been fortified, Enies Lobby shuddered violently. A third beam descended from the sky, searing its way through an office.

The bombardments cleared the area and destroyed the first gate. A group of drop ships descended from Valiance's fleet. When these ships landed, the Evas emerged from three of them and armed themselves for battle. Asuka in Unit 02 split away from the main group and moved towards the middle gate of Enies Lobby. The Abh on the ramparts opened fire while Omnipotence supersoldiers flew into the sky and fired elemental blasts.

These puny attacks were ineffective versus an Eva. Unfazed, Unit 02 swept its hand across the ramparts, clearing it entirely of Abh. It began to pound the gate, causing a small dent to form on the steel doors. Unit 02 threw another punch and another, deepening the impression in the door. Eventually, Unit 02 broke a hole through the doors. It got a good hold and tore the door out of its hinges. It grabbed the remaining door and did the same to it.

Using the remains of the doors, Unit 02 constructed crude new bridges beside the central one which led to the gate. Unit 02 advanced into the city and fired its beam rifle at an M1 Astray. The beam melted a hole straight through the mobile suit. Unit 01 took its comrade's flank, firing a machine gun at enemy forces. Within a few hours, the Evas had cleaned out defences along the second wall.

The Sea Train arrived, carrying its first batch of Valiance foot soldiers. More ships descended from the sky depositing yet more soldiers and supplies for operations in Enies Lobby. The Straw Hat emerged from the Sea Train. "Hmm, just like old times, eh Franky?" asked Zolo.

"Yep, this place brings back some wonderful memories," said Franky with tear-filled eyes.

"Hey, no need to get all emotional," said Zolo. "We're just here to clean out some squatters. That's all."

"This is an important place for me too... For all of us," said Luffy.

"Hey, don't tell me you're getting soft on me too!" said Zolo.

"No, don't you get it?" asked Nami. "This is where they took Robin. She called to us as friends. She said she wanted to live and go sailing around the world with us."

"Oh yeah," said Zolo. "Yeah... I'll never forget that. It's too bad she was on vacation from filming."

The Straw Hat Pirates looked upon Enies Lobby and remembered how they stormed this island to rescue Robin from the World Government. Her captors made a Buster Call on the island, an order to annihilate everything on the island. Despite the damage caused, the World Government was able to rebuild the place quickly. The Abh had claimed the place, using it as their seat of power on Great Blue. Now, the Straw Hats were back to repeat their earlier raid.

The battle continued along the city as Valiance forces pushed further towards the Navy Headquarters. With the second gate open, Valiance soldiers were free to storm the courthouse of Enies Lobby. Saillune and Zaibach troops poured through the gate as Abh troops concentrated fire to stem the tide. Zaibach troops returned fire with Chlima guns while Saillune spell casters dropped fire-based spells to ignite the Chlima. Despite the raging flames, the Abh held their positions.

Omnipotence supersoldiers entered the field through the sky, raining blasts of energy down from their hands. The energy exploded upon striking the ground, flattening a line of Saillune soldiers. Zaibach soldiers re-aimed upwards filling the sky with bolts of silver. A supersoldier aimed a beam at Gourry, who blocked the move with his sword. He swung his weapon unleashing a magical shockwave. It took the supersoldier out of the sky in one shot.

Gourry continued fighting unaware of a sniper aiming at him from a window. Gourry felt a blast of wind soar past the back of his head. It went up to the sniper's window cut him down. The sniper tumbled out of the window and landed on the ground with a thud. Gourry turned to gaze at Zolo. After a few seconds of silent, but mutual respect, Zolo beamed a smile at him. "I guess that's makes us even now..."

"Yep, it sure does," said Gourry, who spotted more enemy soldiers approaching the area.

Apparently, Zolo had spotted them also. "I call dibs on the scruffy guy!"

"You wish!" said Gourry as the two of them charged at the enemy group.

While Gourry and Zolo dealt with the reinforcements, Valiance heroes began to enter the courthouse. Shayla Shayla blasted the barricaded doors of the building down. Dozens energy bolts soared out as soon as the doors went down. Magicians hurled mighty spells into any openings to clear out the hidden enemy forces. Archer lobbed arrows into the ranks of enemy gunners. The Abh line fell and Valiance advanced to deliver the death blow.

The Evas set up positions across the chasm from the Navy Headquarters. Rei sent beam of energy at a barricaded office building. It exposed a previously invisible energy barrier. She sent two more shots to the building, causing the barrier to spark and short out. Rei fired again, searing a hole through the building. The building eventually collapsed, becoming useless as a sniper nest.

Within hours, the forces of Valiance controlled the courthouse and the Judicial Tower. The only thing left was to advance across the bridge through the Judicial Tower to the Navy Headquarters. During the fight for the Judicial Tower, the enemy had destroyed the only bridge connecting it to the Navy Headquarters. With no land access available to Valiance, they went the only other way available to them, by air.

To keep the enemy off balance, the Evas bombarded the other side every chance they got. Their beams soared over the chasm, illuminating the air like bolts of lightning. The Crimson Egg joined in, raining energy like columns of light. When the area was sufficiently quiet, drop ships descended onto the last section of Enies Lobby. "Oh yeah, we're gonna win this!" said Luffy, elated at how much progress his side was making in battle.

"Calm down. We still haven't won yet," said Zolo.

"We're getting close. I can feel it," said Usopp.

The Straw Hats' ship landed in the middle of a deserted street. The bombardment had put several craters into the streets. Most of the buildings had collapsed from the attacks. In the distance, the Straw Hats could see a white brick and mortar building over the horizon. It was marked with the word "Navy." It was now the headquarters of the Abh and survived the bombardment due to some sort of shielding.

Valiance forces began to take a beachhead on this last stretch of land. Bolts of Chlima soared through the air, only to be met with similar bolts of energy from the enemy. A fiery explosion resounded in the distance from a powerful spell by Saillune army wizard. The Straw Hats followed the advance through the city. Upon reaching the third intersection, they ran afoul of a squad of Omnipotence supersoldiers.

The men fired at the Straw Hats from the sky, knocking Luffy to the ground with their first strike. However, Luffy recovered quickly from the blow while the others prepared for a war. Zolo flung air blades through the sky. The supersoldiers scattered and returned fire. The Straw Hats scattered to avoid the enemy's attack. Usopp peeked out from cover and let loose stones from his slingshot.

He scored a hit to a man's temple, knocking him headfirst out of the sky. "Yeah I got one!" he cheered.

Nami fiddled with her Clima Tact. It produced a storm cloud which blasted lightning down on the supersoldiers from above. They scattered to evade the lightning. One of them fired an energy bolt which pierced through Nami harmlessly. She vanished, revealing it to be only an illusion. Another lightning bolt descended onto the supersoldier. He screamed in agony as millions of volts of electricity surged through his body. He crashed to the ground with a resounding thud that blew up a moderately sized cloud of dirt.

In the meantime, Valiance troops had the enemy pinned down in the Navy headquarters. From the windows, Abh soldiers returned fire at the Valiance soldiers in the surrounding buildings. A bolt of Chlima pierced an Abh's armoured vest fatally. The Abh tumbled out of the window and hit the ground below. A bolt of flame seared through an Abh's chest. A fireball exploded at the highest floor of the Navy's Headquarters. It tore a massive hole through the facade and a few floors.

The explosion also dislodged a flagpole and ignited the flag. This flag had a cross-like jack on a white background. It was the flag of the World Government. As it fell to the ground, the flames spread rapidly until it was ash. Valiance forces blasted the front door down and stormed the building. Soldiers screamed, swords clashed, and shots rang through out the lobby. Abh and Omnipotence forces fell one by one until none were left. Valiance had taken Enies Lobby.

---

Some time after the capture of Enies Lobby, hundreds of Imperial Abh battle cruisers gathered at Volbeirunei naval base. It was the largest of the former Abh Empire's space bases. The mood was tense as the Abh prepared for their greatest battle in several years, the reclamation of their capital. Chimera had stationed hundreds of Abh ships at the capital to defend it from attack. The battle was not going to be easy.

In one of the Basroil's briefing rooms, Lafiel described the plan of attack to Valiance heroes. "The Basroil will lead the second wave of the attack. When the first wave clears a path to the capital we and the drop ships will deposit armed soldiers to storm the capital. You will be leading the charge. Find Chimera and take him out. We will provide you maps of the capital so you can plan your attack."

"Okay, understood," said Trunks.

Within minutes, the Imperials advanced on Lakfakalle. Hundreds of gateways opened into the hyperspace dimension. The world seemed to be covered in a strange green light. After an hour of travel, the ships emerged in the space near a gigantic crystalline space station. It looked almost like a star that had been frozen over. Its spokes and spires reflected hues of blue and white.

Hundreds of enemy ships were stationed around Lakfakalle, the Abh capital. Upon entering the area, the enemy immediately moved to intercept. Beams of light soared across the darkness. Within moments, one of the enemy ships had been hit. Fire gushed out of the opening in the ships hull as interior work crews rushed to extinguish it. The same even repeated on the Imperial side, with one of its ships having a wing blown off.

One of the enemy ships launched a nuclear warhead. It struck and blew an Imperial ship in half. The Imperials launched warheads in retaliation, blowing up a line of enemy ships one by one. The enemy numbers began to dwindle as the Imperials forced their way through to the capital itself. When enemy ships came close enough to threaten it, Lakfakalle lit up with activity.

Dozens of energy beams soared from its defences, missing the Imperial vanguard. The Imperial ships launched nuclear warheads and the great Abh city shuddered with violent force. The Imperials continued to aim for Lakfakalle's defence systems, hoping to render the city helpless for boarding. More beams and nuclear warheads slammed into the base. Inside, a warhead exploded upon a gunner, consuming the man in a cloud of flame.

With Lakfakalle so weakened, the Basroil closed in on its docking bay. Inside, Abh troopers fired upon the ship as tried to dock. Trunks burst out and punched a soldier in the face. He fired a pair of ki blasts into two more guards, putting them flat on the ground. A guard attempted to pistol whip him, but Trunks disarmed him and hurled him into allies Judo-style. The guards fired on him but he dodged with preternatural speed. He closed the distance and struck with punches and kicks.

Sonic rushed into the battle with blinding speed. In the course of a second, he had knocked over two guards and was advancing on the third. Following him was Faust, who summoned several skeletons into being. Faust and his skeletons closed in on a group of guards. He cut them down with a scythe aglow in dark orange Furyoku. The skeletons swarmed Abh and pummelled them with their bony fists.

Morty smashed an Abh guard down with his hammer. Seeing reinforcements coming, Amelia hurled a fireball into the nearby hallway. "This way!" cried Trunks, rallying his team to battle. Trunks' team ran down the sterile metal hallways of Lakfakalle.

Outside, the fighting continued between Imperial and insurgent forces. Every few moments, the Abh capital would shudder as an explosive shockwave washed over it. They could hear the booms from Abh ships striking the capital's defences. The Imperials had the upper hand. Amelia looked behind and saw more Imperial ships landing elsewhere. At those docks, insurgent soldiers opened fire, forcing the Imperials to return fire. Inch by inch, the insurgents fell back.

Trunks' team passed through lengthy hallways on their way to the main city, which housed the living quarters. These buildings were higher tech versions of modern homes with whitewashed walls which reflected the light of an artificial sun. The people had largely evacuated the moment they realized Lakfakalle would come under attack. All that remained were Lakfakalle's insurgent guards, who had set up roadblocks and sniper points across the city.

The insurgent troops opened fire on Trunks' team as they advanced through the city. Shaoran raised the Shield Card in defence, as did Meilin. The guards energy shots were absorbed by the shield harmlessly. Shaoran summoned the Sand Card. A patch of quicksand formed under one of the guards and swallowed him until only his head was jutting out.

Meilin downed another soldier with the energy projectiles of the Shot Card. She cloned herself with the Twin Card and sicced the copy on the others. She cast the Fight Card on her twin, giving her superior fighting skills. The Twin leapt from side to side, evading bullets and kicked the firing soldier in the head. More soldiers ran in to reinforce the battle.

"Oh great, more of them!" said Morty upon noticing them.

He slammed his hammer into the ground, hurling a trail of flame along the ground. It rushed into a group of soldiers and exploded, knocking all of them out. The soldiers returned fire. As Morty prepared to block, a shell of azure light surrounded his body. Morty gave a grateful nod to Meilin before charging into his attackers. Faust followed him in and grew bony a shell over his hammer. Morty's blows caused even more devastating harm with each strike. Morty clubbed an Abh over the head, cracking his helmet and knocking the man unconscious.

Faust cut down a soldier who attempted to blindside Morty. "Yeah, thanks for the support," said Morty to his friend.

"No problem. Hey look, the cavalry is coming in!" said Faust.

Faust pointed out several shots zinging back and forth from elsewhere in the city. The Abh Imperials were now in a heated firefight with the Omnipotence-backed insurgents. Trunks team renewed its attack, pressuring the enemy line. Trunks sidestepped enemy fire and closed in. He punched his attacker and delivered a knee to the stomach. He picked up the man and hurled him into his comrades. Shaoran cast the Fight Card on him, making him more devastating than ever. Trunks elbowed an incoming guard and tossed him at the others. All were flattened in one fell swoop.

"Commander Briefs, we'll take things from here," assured an Abh officer over his radio. "Go get Chimera."

"Roger that, keep us covered," said Trunks.

The Imperials troops intensified their fire, putting pressure on the insurgents. Trunks' team slipped through in the confusion and advanced deeper into the city behind enemy lines. In the distance, the team could see the great marble palace of the Abh Empress. It was a great building fit for a king, or in Ramaj's case, a queen. As the team approached the palace, they came face to face with Chimera's elite guard. While most were human, a few of the guards were Digimon, corrupted by the foul experiments performed on them by Omnipotence.

One of the Digimon, a Black Garurumon, pounced on Morty. The wolf Digimon knocked him on the ground and lunged forward to bite him while he was down. Morty held up his hammer in defence, blocking the werewolf's bite attempts. He ignited his hammer, forcing the wolf to back off. Morty rose to his feet and hurled a trail of flame along the ground. The Garurumon rolled out of the way. He threw another fire trail but the Garurumon dodged again. It sprayed a Howling Blaster which Morty was barely able to block. The icy breath forced him to inch back to relieve the pressure.

Meilin summoned the Firey Card and sicced it at the Garurumon. The fire spirit's flames scorched the wolf Digimon, halting the stream of ice. Morty hurled his hammer, nailing the Garurumon's head fatally. The Garurumon crumbled into black bits of data and vanished. Trunks pinned down a fire witch behind the pressure of a ki beam. Suddenly, a speeding Omnipotence supersoldier smacked him in the back of the head. As Trunks staggered forward, the witch ignited fire around him, staggering him backwards.

Shaoran summoned the Shadow Card along the ground. The speedster ran into the shadow which stuck to him and slowed him like molasses. Sonic zipped in and kicked the speedster in the head, knocking him out. Trunks released a burst of ki, smothering the flames with an exertion of power. He fired a ki beam which the witch was forced to stop with a fire barrier. Trunks turned up the intensity. She capitulated and the ki beam smashed her into a concrete wall.

"That's all of them," said Meilin. "Let's get the castle."

The group made it to the throne room and surrounded a lone Abh seated on Empress Ramaj's throne. The Abh was a man with a fair, elven complexion and long blue hair. He was very young despite possibly being far older than any of the heroes individually. The man had a circlet around his head which was like the crown of a prince of a king. This man had a smug smile on his face and was unconcerned about the presence of the heroes. The man rose from his throne to greet them.

"You must be Chimera," remarked Trunks.

"That's right. I am Chimera, Emperor of the Abh," introduced the man.

"You're no Emperor," decried Amelia. "You stole the throne. Justice has come for you today!"

"Ah but that's where you're wrong. You see, my boss has granted me powers no Abh could ever hope to have. Sure it's nice to king, but what's more thrilling is the power. Oh yes, the power! I will show you the power Omnipotence has given me." Chimera's face contorted and his body enlarged and ripped through his clothes. "Like..." Chimera burst through his clothes to the shock of the heroes. "This..." He keeled over onto all fours as his body became more muscular, like a lion's. A scorpion's tail emerged from his throbbing flesh as it turned a mangy beige colour. Chimera's hair turned brown, framing his sneering face.

"What the hell..." remarked Faust.

"Well, well, Valiance heroes, what do you think of me now?" asked Chimera. "Speechless aren't you? I'll make sure you stay that way!"

Chimera suddenly thrust his tail at the heroes. They scattered to avoid the venom-dripping stinger. Trunks got into position and fired a ki beam at Chimera. The blast hit and exploded on contact with Chimera, but he suffered nearly no harm. Chimera exhaled a jet of flame in retaliation, forcing Trunks to retreat. Chimera followed by lashing his tail forward, which Meilin blocked with the Shield Card. Morty closed in and smashed his hammer into Chimera's shoulder. Chimera gasped in pain and lashed his tail at Morty. Being slightly late in dodging, it slashed him down his chest.

Trunks fired a ki blast to lure Chimera away. Amelia pulled him out of the way began to use a Detoxify spell to remove the poison. Faust sicced half a dozen skeletons at Chimera which punched and grabbed him. Chimera shook off the skeletons and lashed his tail at one. The skeleton collapsed into a pile of bones. A patch of quicksand formed under his legs and trapped him. Chimera breathed fire at Shaoran, who raised the Shield Card in defence. He clawed out of the quicksand and lashed his tail at Trunks, knocking him to the ground.

"Man, this guy's strong!" remarked Trunks as Amelia tended to his wounds.

Sonic dashed into Chimera and kicked him in the face. "Grr... You little..."

Chimera lashed his tail but was too slow to hit the hedgehog. Sonic jumped onto Chimera's back began dropping punches onto Chimera's back. Chimera brought his tail down, but Sonic zipped away at the last moment. Chimera ended up stinging himself with his own tail, roaring out in pain upon realizing his mistake. Furious, he charged at Sonic to be caught within a tornado. Shaoran channelled energy into the Storm Card to keep Chimera trapped within the fierce winds. Meilin electrified the tornado with the Thunder Card, whose lightning arced painfully through Chimera.

Seemingly had enough, Chimera sprayed fire while turning in a circle. Amelia, Shaoran, and Meilin raised bubbles of protective light in defence. Faust and Morty raised their weapons to weather the onslaught under the protection of Furyoku. Sonic and Trunks scattered to avoid the flames. Chimera pounced into Amelia's group, causing the three of them to scatter. Amelia tripped while trying to get away and Chimera pinned her to the ground. He breathed fire on the downed priestess who desperately held up a barrier to defend herself.

Trunks fired a ki blast while Meilin fired the Shot Card. The attacks bore into Chimera's skin, forcing him to cut off the flames. Faust's skeleton's latched onto Chimera to pull him off of Amelia. Their attacks were able to push him down onto his side, allowing Amelia to escape. "Thanks guys, let's take him down!" said Amelia.

She began chanting the words to a mighty spell while Chimera was still dazed. She unleashed the Ra-Tilt spell which exploded in a blaze of green light. Chimera yelped in pain. Trunks fired a ki blast which exploded on his leg, causing black blood to splatter onto the ground. Chimera roared in agony but managed to pull himself off of the ground. Morty sent a trail of flame burning along the ground which burst into a great conflagration upon striking Chimera.

Chimera slumped onto his front legs, which were aching in pain and under to support his weight. "We've got him on the ropes," said Trunks. "Let's finish him."

Trunks fired a stream of ki at Chimera, causing him to yelp in agony. Amelia followed with a Ra-Tilt as did Morty with a trail of flames. Meilin ignited a fire on Chimera with Firey, which Shaoran fanned with the Storm's tornado. The combined attacks sent Chimera onto his side. He was heavily weakened and bleeding from the left side of his body. "Damn you!" he cursed as he tried to stand.

"One way or another, justice has come for you," said Amelia. "After what you have done, this was your only fate."

Chimera could feel a strange fire welling up within him strangely. His body began to glow red hot with excess power. "He he he," laughed Chimera. "It seems Paradox will do my work for me. Goodbye, fools!"

Chimera's body began to crack like the earth during a volcanic eruption. Wisps of flame burst out of his wounds as though reaching for something. "He's gonna blow! Let's get out of here!" cried Morty.

The team of heroes made haste to escape from the palace. When they reached the courtyard, Chimera reached critical mass and exploded. A great shockwave rushed throughout the palace, crushing everything within its path. Morty and Faust dove to the ground as just before it reached them. A billowing wall of flame followed, burning everything to a crisp. The flames burst into the sky like an upright tongue trying to lick the sky. The Empress' palace was incinerated in the process, leaving behind nothing but a massive mushroom cloud.

Ash and soot rained on the heroes before the situation finally calmed down. Where Ramaj's palace once stood was a smouldering crater. The heroes picked themselves off of the ground and dusted off all of the soot on their clothes. Abh soldiers rushed to the scene as soon as they could to evaluate the situation. There was little for them to evaluate since the heroes were fine and the palace non-existent. The fighting was over soon after the destruction of Lakfakalle palace. The Abh Imperials recaptured and secured their capital.

Lafiel and Jinto picked their way through the mess to meet up with the heroes. They found medical personnel examining Amelia, who was given a pass as she was unharmed. "We did it!" she proudly proclaimed to the two Abh.

"Yeah, we really did," echoed Jinto.

"Finally, we have the capital once again. The insurgents are defeated," said Lafiel.

"Sorry about the palace," said Morty. "Chimera kinda blew up on us unexpectedly."

"That's okay, we can always build a better one in its place," said Lafiel. "Let's not spoil the moment with the little details now." END OF CHAPTER

New Stars of Heaven/Heavenly Leaders:
None

New Stars of Earth/Earthly Warriors:
None

Spotlight: Sonic X

During a freak accident while rescuing some missing friends, Sonic's group was transported from the planet Moebius to Earth. They were taken in by Christopher Thorndyke's family while they searched for a way to get home. However, the Chaos Emeralds had come with them as did Dr. Eggman, their major enemy. To prevent the Chaos Emeralds from falling into Eggman's hands, Sonic and friends went an adventure to find them first.

Origin:
The animals of Sonic X were born with their unique abilities. Tails was born with a knack for scientific pursuits and he, like Dr. Eggman, developed their scientific knowledge through experimentation.

Powers:
The creatures of Moebius are empowered by ki's strengthening energies. Through ki, they can perform superhuman feats of strength like Knuckles or speed like Sonic. The Chaos Emeralds are artefacts of great ki power, but they are not well understood, not even by its guardian, Knuckles. Science, however, is the major power type of Moebius and Earth. Moebius has produced scientists like Tails, who are capable of creating dimensional and interstellar travel technology.