Ultimatum 3, Trance Trauma Special - Dueling Gods











You were promised it. Well, maybe it wasn't a promise, but a hint should be
good enough indication for you people. Without further interruptions,
Ultimanium is proud to present...









ULTIMATUM 3 - TRANCE TRAUMA

DOUBLE FEATURE







Dueling Gods















********





Magnopolis Security Central
11:02 PM




A guard lifted himself from his chair casually, reaching out to give his
arms a stretch. He gave a satisfied groan before collapsing back into his
seat. The grand lobby ahead of him had seen little action during the night.
He gave a tired glance to the booth above him, where his superior kept his
eyes on the door. The only incident that had been reported that night so far
was the usual drunken-abuse case, and it was beginning to look like another
uneventful shift for the police assigned to night watch. As both workers
began to dose off, the silence was suddenly shattered by the great doors in
front of them flying open, allowing the clatter of the pouring rain to flood
into the room.

The lower officer leant out of his chair, shoving himself to his feet.
"Um... hello? Can we help you?" As his visitor began to slide himself out of
the shadows, it was clear that he was homeless. His only clothes were a
series of tattered rags, covering him in a robing fashion.

"It's.. c-coming!.."

The officer sighed as the man began shaking uncontrollably, and slid an arm
around his shoulder. "Do you need some hot chocolate, or..."

"It's coming!!" the man suddenly convulsed, making the officer stumbled away
from him. "Can't you feel it?! The Great Power is coming to crush us all.."

Seemingly on cue, a blast of lightning from outside lit up the room, shortly
before the lights in the room went blank, dumping the chamber into darkness.

"Nice... power must've been cut out 'cause of the storm. Kevin, run down and
get aux power going."

"Sure." Another voice called out from across the room.

"Okay, now, where were we.." the officer fumbled across his belt and pulled
out a flashlight, which he flicked on and held between himself and the bum.
"Now, what's this great power that you're talking about?"

"The reports.. tell everything!" He shoved a small folder into the officer's
hands, which he accepted reluctantly. He gave the gruff visitor a look of
confusion before looking back down at the packet.

"For your eyes only," he read. "Oh, well, whatever you say..." he tore open
the container, and took out a concealed set of papers. "Let's see... hey...
I know what these are, these are..."

"They sort of look like... Ki readings."

As the pale blue auxiliary power lights blinked on, both people glared back
at the entrance. Magnus stepped out of the storm, his hair slouched from the
beating of the rain. "Magnopolis' R&D keeps a constant eye on the airspace
of the city, and this is just one of the things we keep track of... just
half an hour ago, the Ki radiating through the air jumped from near-zero to
completely concealing the city in a barrier of psychic energy... but... in
order to generate an amount of energy like this, someone would have to have
some sort of high power level..." Magnus glanced back as various lab-coated
workers began to file into the room. "... man, clown cars hold more and more
every time I look."

"Magnus! We've looked over the readings... we think we may have found a
source."

"Go ahead."

"We've received emergency reports not just from Magnopolis scanners, but
from cities all over the globe within the past half hour. They've checked
the expansion of the Ki - it isn't following any sort of pattern... it's
just jutting out in various directions as time goes on. It just so happens
that Magnopolis is going to be the first city under the influence... at the
rate of its expansion, if this power level retains its height, we can expect
it to overlap itself and completely cover the Earth's surface in anywhere
from four to eight hours... give or take. The growth path of the Ki wave is
still extremely unreliable..."

Magnus sweatdropped. "...oh...he..he."

"Ki can be related to force waves... but Ki is generated by the mind. Anyone
with a high power level can restrain generating these waves to some consent.
When they are unleashed, they spread in wild patterns, having extremely high
frequency, and generally shake the air up. Essentially, any place the Ki
waves run through is subject to a catastrophic windstorm. These forces
should be constrained... either we're dealing with a mediocre fighter
untrained in Ki, or..."

"...someone too damn powerful." Magnus finished.

One worker strided over to a signing desk on one side of the room. Everybody
followed, peering over his shoulder. "Using the information we've received,
we and the other cities have detected the source of the wave to be right...
here." He slapped his finger down somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean. "The public doesn't know anything's happening yet. We need a course
of action."

"huh.." Magnus mumbled to himself. "...that's less than 50 miles from where
the Trance's scanner said Gaia's Isle was... but not even a Trance can give
off that kind of power... can..." Magnus breathed deep, suddenly tossing
himself forward and regaining his balance.

"Magnus? Is something wrong?"

"Forget Magnopolis!" Magnus roared. "The PLANET needs to know!"

"Erm... Magnus? You don't look too good. Are you sure..."

Magnus grit his teeth. "Um.. er.. nothing." He began to walk away, swaying
as he went. "...what... is going on here?! Why do I feel so... weak..."
Magnus growled as he threw a fist into one of the building supports. Instead
of instantly shattering the marble pillar like a Super Saiyan of his stature
could, his hand was stopped by the surface of the pillar with a thwap.
"...what.. is going... on?!? Damn it, I'll give myself a self-scan... see
what's going on..." Magnus grunted as he began to focus in on his own
energies, his image fading as he registered a result.

"I HAVE a POWER LEVEL of 40?!"

"So what are you suggesting we do?"

"The only thing we can do," the scientist stated. "evacuate Magnopolis."




********




The sky continued to crackle with the expanding energy, as Xaeros stared
upwards at the Trance above him, easily several times larger than himself.
Xaeros changed his view to the ground beneath him, in front of his
headquarters on Gaia's Isle. He could see his followers scrambling at the
sight of Millenial, escaping the island in planes, boats, and any other
method they could think of. Several people were even swimming. As well, much
of the supplies were being smuggled away, leaving the main courtyard of the
fortress nearly bare.

"Look at them, Balkan," Millenial boomed. "I would say they have some sort
of common sense, running from the apoclalyptic glory that is Antimagnus...
unlike you."

Xaeros immediately turned his attention back to the Trance hovering above
him. "Well, apparently I am the only one who believes in fighting for right
if they have to."

Millenial sighed a heavy groan. "Fight for right? What is your
categorization of right?"

"I will never allow anyone associated with Ultramagnus to use the Trance for
his own personal gain!" Xaeros boomed. "This is not a technology to be
abused, Antimagnus! This is more powerful.. ages more powerful than the Js!"

Millenial's crumpled face seemed to smirk. "Well, I see you've got the title
down pat. Okay, let's try something new... call me 'absolute master'. I
think I'd like that."

Xaeros let out a high-pitched growl as he hurled himself through the air,
leaving afterimages in his wake as he brought his blades up to the deity
ahead of him for a vicious cross-slash. "Argon Blade!!"

Millenial squinted as he intercepted Xaeros, hurtling towards him through
the empty air with his glowing purple blades. Millenial blinked, summoning a
large ball of crackling blue energy which he launched at his target. Xaeros
slowed his advance, cage-guarding himself with the blades. The sphere
impacted against his defense, sending a deafening crack across the sky from
his vantage point in the form of a giant shockwave. Energy lept from Xaeros'
barrier, massive bolts of loose lightning streaking off in different
directions.

Millenial immediately stopped his assault, eyeing Xaeros in the air as he
floated backwards, his arms smoking an azure haze. The color produced as the
drift wafted by his opposite-color arm blades produced an eerie effect.
Soon, Xaeros and Millenial were back where they started.

"Do what you care, Balkan, try as you might, you will not defeat me today."

Xaeros and Millenial continued staring each other down. Thunder rained from
the sky with an echoing crackle, as the Ki waves radiating from the location
began to rise in strength.




********


Argetlahm
11:05 PM




Takato opened an eye, and sighed as he rolled over in his bunk. "Huh? Where
am I.." He felt a sore spot on his chest, finding himself still linked. He
lifted his head up. He was in the top bunk, but it wasn't his. The far wall
of the chamber was lined from celing to floor with delicate electronic
equipment, the top sections linked to him in many of the same places as
before in the weight room. "Hmm.. I must be..." Takato slung his head down,
and peered into the bottom bunk. Ultimanium lied, still unconscious.

"Gah, I'm handicapped status?" Takato began plucking various plugs off him,
before dropping off the bunk to the floor below with a satisfying thud. He
stood himself to his feet, taking one final cord off his back. As he began
to head for the door, Goten slumped in. "..oh, hey, Goten. Hey, why are we
all back on the Argetlahm?"

"The Argetlahm's ALMOST finished.." Goten muttered. "...we didn't have time
to implement one of the last rudder engines... Eric and Shaun said that they
were told that they had to move the Argetlahm out of the bunker and
Magnopolis for a bit.."

Takato frowned. "What's the deal with that? Did Magnus throw another temper
tantrum?"

"All of Magnopolis was given a formal command to evacuate the city." Shaun
silently stepped into the room. "I don't have any idea what's going on with
the place... we were just told by the officials that Magnus was headed to
obtain every current reading for the Magnopolis region that he could find...
that's about as confidential as the information we're going to get...
nothing's been said to the public yet, asides from the evac order."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Charmy shoved her way into the room. "What's going
on?"

"No one knows what's happening..." Shaun bowed. "Whatever's going on, it's
bad. Magnopolis has been issued an evac order by the World State
Government... they're all headed to individual shelters, near the beginning
of the Wastes of Kardis. As well, as far as I've heard many of the other
cities on the opposite side of the Atlantic are going nuts too. The only
thing the Argetlahm's been told is to head to Magnopolis' DIRT (Disaster
Immediate Response Team) HQ, directly northwest of Magnus' chateau..."

Takeru swung his head in the door. "Guys! They're giving out an announcement
to Magnopolis!... it's a news update on TV!"




********


Magnopolis
11:17 PM



The city streets were blank for roughly a second.

A trickle of pedestrians charged down the sidewalk on both sides of the
street, soon followed by a massive rush of vehicles driving straight down
the street on both lanes, and people bursting out of their homes, rushing
with the flow. They carried anything they could, strapping televisions,
food, small appliances and personal belongings into bags, onto their backs,
on the backs of bikes, into their parked cars, wherever they could move
fast. Shouts and yells echoed throughout the blinding street, lit up by the
swarm of headlights flashing in the dark from the cars and trucks blasting
down the road. Soon, people were beginning to throw belongings from the
windows, caught by their fellow family members on the ground below to load
into their vehicles. Cars slammed into each other with clangs as they
attempted to escape out into the open road. Many people at this point had
simply abandoned their vehicles and began to tow their equipment away in a
run.

Inside one of the closer buildings, in the window a young couple could be
seen quickly rushing between rooms, scooping up clothes. The woman carried a
child while the husband carted around a pair of large, hastily packed
suitcases. All the while, the still-running TV played in the background. It
was the news.

"Magnopolis residents are, as said by leading officials in the World State
Government, instructed to leave Magnopolis. Word has come in from leading
experts that the heightening storm experienced by the city tonight is, in
fact, being caused by a large wave of Ki. While the exact reach of the wave
remains confidential, it is safe to say that the storm's fury has been
induced by an extremely high power level. The storm, being identified as
'Hurricane Magnus', seems to be reaching all the way from the distant
shoreline extremely far outland, and is classified as a freak accident by
leading experts. The damage will be immense. You.. must.. leave..
Magnopolis... NOW. For those in a safer areas in rural Magnopolis, the storm
will not take its full effect in those regions until half an hour, so still
be ready to leave at a moment's notice, but stay tuned to Magnopolis'
Service Station for more information on this phenomonea as it occurs."



********



Heero fumbled with the remote control as everybody beckoned him on. Everyone
else stood behind the rec room couch as Takeru quickly flipped through the
channels to Magnopolis' Service Station. As the light green number in the
corner of the television screen locked onto 14, the screen was filled with
the proverbial newscaster at his counter and the smaller viewscreen set up
in the background.

"CNN brings you an update on a crisis going on as we speak, initiated only
half an hour ago. United Nations safety regulations indicate that
settlements shall not be inhabited inside an uncontrolled Ki frequency of
over 500 million units of power. Leading scientists insist that at this
point, a Ki wave with as much power as the one that we're seeing, could
possibly have the planet in a deathgrip.

Ki waves, when left unchecked, can and will have adverse effects on the
seemingly uncontrollable factor of the weather. The capitol Magnopolis was
the first city to be hit by the wave, at the same time that the region along
with a small subdivision of the Atlantic were both experiencing mild
thunderstorms. The Ki has worsened the storm to a near monsoon, and several
lightning strikes have already been reported in the commercial sector of
Magnopolis, damaging structures and starting several small fires in
different locations of the economic section of the city. Forecasts indicate
that Magnopolis WILL be struck with 120 km/h+ winds within the next half
hour. Moreover, it has been reported that this wave may very well be
increasing in size, so even the Southern Cities may not be a haven for
long."

"What the hell is going on..." Serge growled.

"Are we going to head down there to assist with the evac?" Gohan asked.

"Oh, don't worry," Shaun sighed. As he spoke, the ground underneath the rec
room shuddered, making everyone stumble. "...have you SEEN the streets?
They're practically empty now. I guess we can thank everybody down there
for..." Shaun paused again as the flooring beneath him creaked. "...um..
Eric... could you run upstairs and get the Argetlahm above cloud cover? I
don't think the storm's taking a liking to us either."

Eric nodded. "Sure thing." everybody watched as the door slid shut. All eyes
went immediately back to the TV.

"Recent communications with several operating oil rigs sustained at the
near-center of the Atlantic have already brought up several reports of
hallucinations, with several workers already having claimed to see what
appears to be a golden dragon floating in the sky. This has led to the
common assumption that the storm and the Ki waves may have some origination
with it."

"I hate to say it, but that sounds like a REASONABLE assumption at this
point." Cody muttered.

"Right here... at El Trazos Oil Platform, 50 miles from the geographical
center of the Atlantic Ocean. All evidence points to the exact center of the
Atlantic Ocean as the source of the calamity."

Everybody rolled their eyes.

Crono stood up, lifting his katana from the ground. Cody glanced at him,
before taking his own.

Trunks looked at the two as they went to leave the room. "..h-hey! What's
going on?"

"Don't you get it? Something the Prospector and Servant are doing is causing
this entire mess," Cody stated. "If we want Magnopolis to remain standing,
then I think we don't really have much choice then to attack him direct at
this point. The countdown's begun, and we're running out of time."

"Keep it down, guys," Patamon chirped. "He's still going..."

Everybody glanced back at the TV.

"Our leading men have set up a temporary station at El Trazos, and are
keeping constant watch on the skies. As you can see, the golden dragon here
is a tri... oh... damn. It is there, too.... alright, valid explanation,
valid explanation... what can I use..."

Everybody sweatdropped.

"...never mind! The fact is, people KNOW this is a dragon, and to that
extent requests have been pouring in from militias and bounty hunters from
all over the planet and local systems to take care of the mess and get
answers. Before anyone heads out there, let me tell you that this sort of
act is ILLEGAL, and will probably get you killed. I mean, LOOK! That is a
freaking DRAGON!!! AUUUGHHH!!" everybody blinked as the reporter began
ripping his hair out, before dashing off the stage screaming.







"We can't just sit here!" Takato pouted. "Lookit that, everybody is just
charging in there, they have no idea what that thing is! And if it's the
Prospector or Servant's doing, they're never going to stand a chance against
it!"

"That could only be a Trance," Vegeta huffed. "And a pretty big-ass one at
that. I don't honestly know if charging in there is what WE should do."

As everybody joined in delightful argument, no one noticed the door of the
rec room fly open. A dark, lean figure slumped through the door, bracing
himself on his side as he entered.

"...g-guys... wait up a sec..."




Locke blinked in disbelief. "...Ulty?!"

Ultimanium propped himself weakly on the doorframe, struggling to keep
himself standing. "I take it... you got word of what was happening."

Raynor nodded vigorously. "Yeah, the Prospector and Servant are on a ram.."

"I know, Raynor," Ultimanium choked. "I've been in sustained Trance... one
of these abilities... is to detect other Trances over... extremely long
distances. I knew Shiva and Stratos were coming to attack the shipyard, if I
could control my power I would have warned you... but what I'm trying to say
is.. these are definite Trances we're dealing with..." As Ultimanium began
to slump to the ground again, Eric came up from behind him and lifted him
back onto his feet. "..er... thanks."

"Ultimanium!" Vegeta grimaced. "What is going on here? How are you awake?"

"I'm... not too sure..." Ultimanium ran his palm across his forehead,
wincing as he did so. "...I know for a fact that it has something to do with
the current events... it looks like Servant's going bonkers. The Prospector
is dormant..."

"Servant?!" Vegeta bellowed. "That know-nothing android is running the
show?! Alright, NOW I have to go fight!"

Renamon stared back at Ultimanium. "Do you mean you seriously know what's
occuring at Gaia's Isle?"

"No.. but Trances are involved.. that's about all I can tell you. I would
say that's all the reason we need to head out there. If those two aren't
stopped... it'll be the end of Magnopolis... and then.. the world..."

"Ultimanium's back in business! And the Argetlahm II... and just about
everything else!" V2 threw his fist up, leaping onto the couch. "We're gonna
head to Gaia's Isle... and we are finally going to kick some ass!!
Everything will be absolutely perfect!!"

Gohan glanced down at the floor. "Is it just me, or is the Argetlahm on a
tilt?"

"...except for that rudder engine..."

Everybody sighed.

Armadillomon pivoted his head to the group. "..uh, hey, Ulty.. now that
you're out of your little sleepy-time, can you actually.. you know... go
Trance?"

"I can Trance..." Ultimanium glared down at his palm. "I can shoot my power
level through the roof, sure, but I have no idea how to control it.. I
wouldn't be surprised if I just wound up in another coma."

Serge nodded, smiling. "Well, we've been sitting around here long enough.
Let's head for Gaia's Isle and finish this!"

Everybody put their hands in the air. "YEAH!!"




********




El Trazos Oil Platform
11:47 PM



The sky from view of the main platform of the facility had shifted into a
sickening green, as smoke drifted through the already hazy air. The crane
swivelled with a buzzing whirr as its cameraman swung through a thick shaft
of smoke and out off the platform, with an easily-300-foot drop beneath him.
Up in the sky, beyond the ruined fortress of Gaia's Isle that sat off in the
distance, Millenial and Xaeros were in plain sight. Meanwhile, several dozen
smaller air/space/hovercraft sat waiting in a circle around the site. Each
individual ship wavered uneasily in the upkicked wind from Millenial, as the
airspeed raised and lowered.

A suited man sat at the foot of the crane, facing another smaller camera
with the ocean visible in the distance, including Millenial and Xaeros. He
pushed his toupee back slightly, clearing his breath. "CNN, reporting live
from El Trazos Oil Platform in the Atlantic, where the recent storms rushing
to each continent are supposedly being spawned. Already, people are lining
up around the site to either defeat or negotiate with this mysterious dragon
being, to stop the abuse of the wind that will at some point ruin their
homelands. We will attempt to obtain interviews with our aspiring bounty
hunters as time passes. Back to you Harbring." cutting the link with the
mainland, the main camera's light died out, leaving the area again in its
loneliness. The ships around the imaginary atoll bobbed impatiently as time
began to pass. Up above, a greater struggle was occuring...





"Well, it seems like everything's going just peachy," Millenial barked.
"Ultimanium has awakened from his long slumber... imbued with the power of
Trance. Though he can't control it... that will be his downfall. Are you
starting to get the picture, Balkan?"

Xaeros drew one of his blades close. "Oh, drop the desensitizing banter,
Antimagnus... maybe Ultimanium lacks what is necessary for defeating you...
but I certainly will be more of a problem than him!" Xaeros grunted as he
hurled himself at Millenial again, ripping upwards with his blade across the
deity's skin. Sparks rose from Xaeros' strike, making Millenial flinch. He
tore down with one of his giant claws, slamming Xaeros downwards spinning.
He soon righted himself in the air and rocketed upwards, his knives at his
sides. "Zanetsuken!!" The air around Xaeros exploded in light as time slowed
down around him, letting him drift up Millenial's long body in one long,
conclusive slash. As Xaeros released himself back into the air, normal time
clouded him, and he spun back to his foe. He was horrified at what he saw.

Millenial had been carved clean in half, diagonally upwards. That wasn't the
fact, no, it was the disturbing concept of him floating back together and
locking the cut with a loud snap. He stood again in the sky, without as much
as a scratch. "I must say, your heroic little move surprised me, Balkan. But
it won't exert so much surprise... as this!! Aeon.. Force!!" Millenial
reared back, launching a massive lance of light out his chest and back,
which instantly struck Xaeros and sent him hurtling down and backwards
through the air, spinning as he struck the water with a massive wave
rippling off the impact.

"Ho..ly... crap!! Start the cameras!!" the reporter instantly leapt back
into position. "The battle has started, ladies and gentlemen! The dragon has
been attacked by the mysterious armored man, and sent down into the water!
Could this be the end?!"

"NEVER!!" A scream seemingly echoed throughout the world as Xaeros shot out
of the water in a comet of light and rose his blades directly across
Millenial's surprised face, spraying a giant blast of black blood into the
air from the rift.


"HUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRAGGGGGGGGHHHHH!! You LITTLE.." Millenial clutched his
face, searing with pain as blood funneled out into the ocean below. He
brought his fists together, throwing them down to Xaeros' position with a
giant's swing. Xaeros deftly dodged out of the way, streaking up to
Millenial's face to deliver another blow. Millenial slammed his elbow in
Xaeros as he climbed, sending him down again. Xaeros groaned as he slammed
down into the churning surf, this time drifting with the waves as they rose
and fell.

Millenial watched the immobile body for a brief second before turning his
gaze skyward. "It's normally at this point I leave, but, the Argetlahm is
coming, and THAT I can't miss." He quickly rose his voice. "You hear that,
all you mortals, THIS will be the fight that will end your world! As soon as
I deal with Ultimanium and his little bandwagon, the Trance shall be sent
along the Ki wave I have set upon this world... at that point it will have
covered the entire earth's surface and you will all CRUMBLE before the
power!!"




********



Magnopolis
11:58 PM




Magnus slouched through the streets of his great city, staring onwards with
disgust at the mess ahead of him. The roads had been completely desecrated
in the evacuation; garbage, several wrecked vehicles and forgotten furniture
lost in the mess. He slowly lifted his head to the sky, lit up by by an
eerie aura, similar to the ones far north of Magnopolis. It was easy to tell
it was reflected light from far off, and Magnus knew full well where the
display of effects was coming from. He held an arm to his face, fending off
the sudden burst of wind that ripped through the street. The sheer force
nearly threw the gripped Saiyan to the ground.

The officer came up from behind him, as lightning cracked harshly against
the blue/green sky. "Magnus, we've gotten most of the people out of
Magnopolis as instructed by the United Nations. There's still a couple of
stragglers saying they don't want to abandon their home, but, still.. I
think we're set to leave."

Magnus glared deep into the storm ahead of him. "Leave without me. Where are
those people you said that didn't want to leave?"

"Sir, you can't be serious! The winds are going to reach hurricane status
within the next ten minutes. The people you're talking about are hopeless at
this point... I understand that even 300 km/h winds can't kill a Super
Saiyan, but the force can certainly get you extremely injured. Think about
what you're doing..."

"I've thought enough for one day," Magnus snarled. "We're going to get those
people out, whether you like it or not. Now give me the address unless you
want your license revoked."

The worker sighed. "I'm not going to take any responsibility for any
possible injuries... there was a couple of people associated with a
organization, they're going to take their own lives at 12:15, it's some sort
of cult thing... they're pretty sure the world's going to end with all this
calamity. They dug themselves in on one of the middle floors of Techno
Tower.. we're not sure, but it would be safe to say that they would be
armed. And..."

Magnus paused for a second, waiting for a response. "..and what?"

"...they're holding three hostages."

"I'll get them out. Don't worry about me. Just leave, you're more likely to
die here than me."

"...um... okay. Good luck." Magnus watched grimly as the officer quickly
took his leave, looking back at his leader.

***I DO care about Magnopolis, Ulty, even if it doesn't look like it.***




********





Argetlahm
12:00 PM




Ultimanium quickly shoved his chair back and forth between the control
panels on both sides of him, far quicker than he had been going several
minutes ago. The only thing different about the scene normally present on
the Argetlahm was the fact that Minonim, Eric and Shaun were doing the exact
same thing, chairs ricocheting off of every available terminal.

"Incoming transmission on inset 7," Shaun shouted. "I got it."

Eric, Minonim and Ultimanium quickly pivoted around to get a good look at
the vid monitor set up above the console. A short burst of static eventually
cleared out, revealing a scene in a military office, obviously a Canadian
one. Standing in eye-view was a large man in formal beige dress, his upper
chest littered with small medals.

"Greetings, Argetlahm. I am Major General Uirol. You're undoubtedly had this
talk with the other countries before, so I'm not going to keep you... just
give me the gist of it."

Minonim bleeped, lighting up his eyes. "It seems that the phenomonea with
the 'northern lights' that the world is experiencing is being caused by the
Master Trance, set at the Prospector's main base on Gaia's Isle. The Servant
involved with Ultramagnus nine years ago infiltrated his chain of command
and is using his top-secret project, Trance, to launch attacks on Magnopolis
and other areas. He seems to be gunning for us more than mass destruction.
Have the Magnopolis officials spoken to you yet?"

Uirol nodded. "Yes, they have. We've been keeping a constant watch on the Ki
wave. It's stretched over the Atlantic for the past 20 minutes, and it is
nearly halfway to its neighboring continents. We're guessing another half an
hour before it starts coming in contact with any more major cities. Already,
however, we've gotten indication from many US, South American and European
officials that evacuation of Atlantic coast cities is underway."

"Well, that gives us a little more time," Ultimanium mumbled. "Alright, get
everybody up here. Uirol... is there anything going on at El Trazos that we
should be aware of?"

"Nothing seems to be happening," Uirol groaned. "The two figures in the
sky.. 'Trances' as you call them, haven't been making any rash advances.
They have only been damaging each other. As far as we're concerned, they
aren't exactly interested in destroying the earth... that's just a probable
side-effect for them."

"The Trances are fighting...?" Eric pulled his head up from its faceplant on
the control panel. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means the situation is not as it seems. They haven't made any full-out
attacks against each other, their strikes tend to be extremely swift against
one another... they're assumingly attempting to drag this out. This looks
like a heated fight. There IS a lot on the line here..."

"I know who they are..." Ultimanium sighed.

"Huzzah?" both Shaun and Eric swung their chairs around to face Ultimanium.
They watched as he stood up to face offwards to the turbolifts, which
essentially was the equivelent of staring at a wall, at least on the bridge.

"Servant and the Prospector are battling," Ultimanium moaned. "I can sense
the Trances... their influence is spreading over this planet like a
plague... but that's not the point... they're in my mind, I can feel the
battle going on. Servant is the real culprit here. The Ki waves being
generated are being generated by Servant's Trance, while the Prospector's is
negating it... but it's not strong enough. If it weren't for him being
there, the Ki wave would already have impacted the mainland and millions of
lives would be lost. Servant... isn't even Servant."

()*&(*)(*)(*)(*)(*$@$^^$@&)(*)(*(*&(*(*&(*^*%(^(*&^&^(^(^%#%#Q@(^%*^%*&%&% <mailto:*$@$^^$@&)(*)(*(*&(*(*&(*^*%(^(*&^&^(^(^%>*#
%%^)#(*)*(_*$(%^*%(*%^(&%(%)$)&%_(^^$&$(^*()^%*^$(*^*_^&%(%(%!

As people began to pile onto the bridge, they shuddered as a wave of
interference scratched over the intercom of the ship, instantly destroying
the current connection and wiping Uirol's picture off the screen.. soon to
be replaced with a wide-angle picture of the face of the same gold dragon
that embraced televisions all over the world at some point.

"I am amazed that you would be able to figure out the truth at ANY point,
Ultimanium," Millenial croaked. "You may have noticed by now, but I'm not
the faithful servant that I once was, no pun intended. I have had command
over the Trances, not that pitiful excuse for a leader, Balkan Kovosochek,
or should I say, the Prospector. I have to say, James and Din were rather
foolish to put a Trance on you, of all people. I knew that you would have
the fastest recovery time out of all the people on your Argetlahm II, so I
discouraged the act of Dark Switching with anyone of your caliber. However,
past is the past. Even if you are Tranced, you stand little chance against
me, the fully-Tranced god of the sixth dimension, Antimagnus. With the might
of the Trance, you may call me Millenial. That or supreme ruler, take your
pick."

Eric grimaced. "This is bad..."

"Anyways, you ants are fighting for the freedom and security of the free
world, so if you wish, you may come challenge me... at the battleground of
Fate, Gaia's Isle. The world will be watching you, Ultimanium, that or their
very lives crumbling before Death."

"No way!" Raynor spat. "What ab.." his voice began to fade as the screen
blinked black again. "...damn it!"

"This could be our last fight," Ultimanium spoke. "Antimagnus is waiting for
us at Gaia's Isle. As soon as he is defeated, the Trance menace will be
over, and you will be permitted to return home. Are you all willing to
accompany the Argetlahm to Gaia's Isle?"

Locke nodded. "Heard the entire thing. He's just another Trance, he can't be
that hard. Let's get this over with."

V2 held his arms behind his head. "Ditto. There hasn't been much here in the
past little while that we haven't been able to handle."

Trunks kept his face straight. "I think a quick, heavy strike would end the
situation quickly."

Silence quickly erupted between the group. Ultimanium turned back to the
helm of the ship, eyes drooped. "This isn't going to be as easy as it
sounds."

Gohan shrugged. "Eh, Ulty, with all due respect, the Trances HAVE required
no strategy to dispatch so far.. what's the big difference?"

"How about a power level in the power of ten?"

"..okay, big enough for me."

While everyone was able to fake their suspense, many of the crewmembers were
still in an opposite mindset. Forgiving encounters with the earlier Trances
had diluted their common sense. While Ultimanium would go against Millenial
regardless, no one else had any idea of the mess they were getting into...


********


Everyone was oblivious to Renamon's departure of the main bridge chambers,
instead taking the side route and shifting off towards the drydock exit. She
swept her arm forward, tossing the door outwards on its hinges. The drifting
ocean air hit her dead on, as the Argetlahm passed over the cloud cover,
over a small fishing town sitting on the Atlantic Coast. It was fairly easy
to see between the mist, and every light in the small hamlet was shut down.
They had vacated the premises over twenty minutes ago, also affected by the
evac order. The drydock exit led onto a four-foot wide guardrailed catwalk
that ran along the ship, with a small indentation in the section near the
door for docking purposes. Halfway along the pathway, Rika leant herself
against the hull of the Argetlahm, sheeted in her overcoat, which flapped
steadily in the wind. Her blue shades remained over her eyes, unfazed by the
weather. "Renamon, what would you like?"

"I have some obligation to know where you are. As for this place, I find it
particularly hazardous. It is far too easy to fall off."

"It's certainly better than having to sit in there and listen to everybody
scream at each other."

"I.. sense some disregard for your crewmembers... does it have anything to
do with the coming fight?"

"Nah, everybody's just annoying as hell, that's all," Rika shot. "I frankly
can't get how everybody on the last tour was able to stick together for
three weeks, let alone one. And honest to God, if Eric says anything
again.."

Renamon shook her head. "As many times as I've heard it, I still can't
understand why you talk about the boy so harshly. You might not realize it
right away, but he's saved you more times than ME on this trip so far. I
would imagine he deserves some sort of compensation."

"That inconsistent baka just wants some in his pants."

Renamon sweatdropped. "...as far as I've heard, Rika, that's what you said
about EVERY male that's talked to you so far on this trip, even Takato."

Rika rolled her eyes, turning her face back out to the ocean. The wind
kicked up a fierce howl that penetrated through the air and screamed along
the pathway. After a delay, Rika glanced back over to the entrance to find
Renamon still standing there. "..okay, you can leave, mysterious and all."

"Think about what you're doing, Rika." with those chilling words, Renamon
took her normal leave, disappearing from the air before her master. The wind
seemed to die out at that moment, as if expecting an answer.

Rika sighed before turning back out. "If that's what it takes to get both of
you off my back once and for all..."




********




El Trazos Area
12:02 PM




The population of the small imaginary atoll around Gaia's Isle had increased
greatly over the period of half an hour, with nearly hundreds of spectators
leaving their cockpits and climbing out on top of their rented and bought
star and water ships to get a better view of Millenial, hanging in the sky
like an omen. The most prominent of these ships, the noticable people that
weren't there to see the wonder but actually to make sense of the situation,
were few and far between, but they were present. Among the smaller vehicles,
a medium-sized white metal cruiser sat hovering above the water much higher
than the normal earthbound watercraft. It wasn't a giant ship, though it did
plant some fear in the air. A pair of shaded figures were visible through
the main cockpit of the ship, one seated, one standing.

The standing figure, identifiable as avian, leant forward and planted his
palms on the main controls of the ship. "So what's the big deal with this
thing? I still can't tell what's goin' on here.. what IS everybody doing out
here, anyways? Do they think it's God or something? I mean..."

Off on a side terminal, a more built figure swung around on a swivel chair.
A rabbit. "Oh, c'mon, Falco, give it a rest, we're just here on business..."

The lead figure, a foxmorph, slowly shoved himself out of his chair. He
rubbed behind his ears as he reached up with his other hand and drug down a
flat montior from the celing. "Heh... I hate to say it, guys, but Falco's
got a point. I bet none of us can figure out what's going on here, but it's
a mission. Let's just finish the scan so we can get out of here before
things get messy, if they do."

"SOMEONE'S pretty optimistic," Falco sneered. "Fox, Corneria would NEVER
send the great Star Fox team out for a garbage run. There's certainly a
danger factor involved..."

"..which stems mostly from lack of knowledge.." the rabbit continued. "...of
WHATEVER this thing is..."

Fox smirked. "Um.. well, still, Peppy, it seems like we need a hasty retreat
ready, in case things DO go wrong." he reached down and tapped a key on the
console, making the screen light up with the picture of a maintenance robot,
linked up to various computers behind him. "ROB64 online. Command?"

"Rob, run last-minute checks on the Arwings... make sure they're ready to go
in a hurry if we need them."


FUEL LEVELS OPTIMAL
HULL INTEGRITY OPTIMAL
WEAPONS SYSTEMS OPTIMAL
G-DIFFUSER...............ERROR


"G-Diffusers have experienced a malfunction," ROB64 droned. "Systems scan
indicates that G-Diffusers have a 99.999998% chance of working correctly."

"Well, he's one to nitpick," Falco muttered. "99.999998's good enough for
me."

"I guess," Peppy sighed, not looking from his computer. "You know how well
those G-Diffusers come along, one screw-up and you practically gotta replace
'em fully. A repair wouldn't be practical for a margin like that."

Everybody turned as the bridge doors hissed open. A small frog bounded in,
coated in baggy jeans and a bright red cap, and holding up a large floppy
disk in his right hand. "Guys! We got the information! We're ready to begin
diagnosis!"

"Thank you, professor, just get the damn stuff loaded." Falco slumped over
to a seat a short distance away from Fox and hunched himself on it.

"Hey, Slippy..." Fox slowly shoved the chair back around until it faced
backwards into the depths of the bridge. "...do you have any idea why
Corneria sent us out to this sector? It's kind of funny that we're doing the
scanning work.."

"Oh, yeah, you slept through the briefing," Slippy chirped, not caring to
notice both Fox and Falco giving him vengeful frowns. "Big man Pepper wanted
us to head out to this sector 'cause his other R&D guys noticed something
wrong..."



********



Cornerian Spaceport
Half an hour earlier





Slippy grinned as he peered out over the catwalk, as attendees on the ground
below slapped shut the gigantic fuel valve on the Great Fox. The ship began
to roll forward as the huge gates ahead of it slid open. While he was
excused from the main briefing, he had been given the gist of it earlier,
and was instead assigned to oversee the preperation of the Great Fox. Below
him, a long red carpet lied unfurled leading out to the main docking
mechanisms of the carrier. The three remaining half-awake Fox team members
stood ahead of the Cornerian defense minister, General Pepper. Like many of
the officals scurrying around the complex, he was a canine, barking out
orders through his floppy cheeks to workers as they shot off to their tasks.

"Fox! It's good I got a hold of you... I understand that Cornerian curfew
started half an hour ago, and.. you look like you had a rough day, but this
mission is of the utmost importance!"

Fox stared at Pepper with half-open eyes. "Give us mission."
Falco appeared the same. "Give mission now."

"As you may have noticed at this point, the Great Fox has had several
adjustments made to its engine to boost its power dramatically. Our long
range scanners have picked up what appears to be a Ki wave forming on the
terran planet Earth in Sector 7/ETEE4437/DSF4346. We would normally send our
recon forces, but United Nations forces on that planet have already notified
us that conditions on the planet are already harsh at the point of origin.
Add to the fact that it looks like some sort of dragon entity is causing a
potential planetwide hurricane... you get the picture. We need you to head
down and see exactly what is going on, and send us back readings so we can
devise a course of action and possibly offer some support."

Peppy broke the silence. "...why?"



********



"..I STILL don't know." Fox sighed.

"Study the weather? Find out the secret of Ki? Let us get out and have a
life? I don't know, let's just finish this." Slippy hopped into his
respective terminal, sliding the disk into the drive and hitting a key,
making the screen ahead of him into a blur of binary. Falco had left his
position at the helm and sat, staring over Slippy's shoulder with a confused
blink.

"O...kay. Is that supposed to mean something?"

Slippy squinted. "I think.. I have it! That's it! This dragon-thingy is
generating the Ki!"

"THANK you, Captain Obvious!" Falco scowled.

"It's got a power level of.. error?"

"Guys, forget about that," Fox gestured everybody toward the main viewport
of the ship. "Check it out.. whatever that dragon's up to, it's putting off
one hell of an aura."

"Data analysis complete," ROB64 hummed, the computer slowly whirring back to
a halt. "Systematical geographical reports indicate that the Ki wave being
created by the dragon entity are wildly spreading over the surface of Earth.
Briefs' Law of Radial Energy Output states that if the entire surface of a
planet is covered with a wave of Ki, it will begin to push outwards off the
surface of the planet at a much faster rate of growth. The outwards blast of
energy could corrupt a star system in mere weeks. While the field is present
in an atmosphere, wind turbulence is increased dramatically."

"That's gotta mean what Pepper's talking about," Falco murmured. "At a rate
like that, Corneria could be overswept in months."

"and at that point, the turbulence would be too great at the epicentre to
make any moves." Peppy finished. "The thing we're dealing with here looks
too powerful for a head-on assault, if that's what we have to do. Fox, do
you have any suggestions?"

Fox leant forwards, propping his elbows on the console and resting his chin
on his folded hands. "I guess we just have to sit here and wait for some
sort of sign. To tell you the truth, I'm totally lost here. Maybe some of
the other ships around here have any idea what's the deal."

Slippy nodded. "I'll get right on it."




********



A pulse of interference swept through the air from the Great Fox, headed
towards a much smaller carrier closer to the water. The ship was about as
large as a house, with little sleekness built to it. It was sheeted in pale
red plating, which was replaced with darker shaded sheets nearer to the
front. One on side of the main compartment was a circular pattern of a
skull. Loud beeping rattled from the interior, causing several arguments to
sprout up inside. Two silouettes visible through a viewport, one a husky man
and another a smaller girl, began battling with a pnuematic arm and a pipe
wrench respectively.

"I'll get the damn thing!"
"Never!"

Both figures danced around for a good minute, attempting to conk each other
over the head with their weapons. Soon they both stopped, and the beeping
rang out again.

"Just.. answer it!"
"As long as I do it!"

"Whatever! Just.. GET IT!!"

The larger figure stomped out of the room, and ripped a vidphone out of a
cramped computer latched onto the wall. "Whaddya want?!"

"This is Slippy of the Great Fox, we wo.."

The man slammed the receiver down, nearly punching the machine through the
wall. "What the hell is going on here? Everybody keeps bombing us with
transmissions, thinking we know a single freaking thing about this... this..
THING, hanging outside! What are we doing out here in the first place?!"

"What do we NORMALLY go for, Teisel? Caaash!" the smaller girl slapped down
a poster, emblazoned with a picture of Millenial and a large dollar sign
stamped underneath it. "In under ten minutes of Magnopolis' evac, bounties
started flying, and UN is already looking for information, and rewarding
with moolah!"

"You still drag us out to the stupidest places, Tron."

Tron scooped up a pair of binoculars, and peered out the closest viewport.
"As soon as we figure out what's going on with freak-show out there, we're
gonna split and head straight for the main HQ in Europe. We already have all
our computers scanning the thing, it'll be mere MINUTES before we have
results!"

"Wait a sec... OUR computers?"

Tron grinned, nodding. "Uh-huh!"

Teisel sighed. "That's what I was afraid of." He turned back and glanced
down the hall, where several computers were set up. One was sparking, the
other two were already on fire. "...hey, Bon, we need some help again."

"Baba-boo!" A large yellow-black probe, with giant eyes on the front and a
fire extinguisher latched onto the top of its head hovered in from an
adajecent hall, turned, and blasted a stream of foam into the room. He
immediately pivoted back, and headed back down the hall. "Baba!"

"I think we've been sitting here way too long," Tron chuckled. "Maybe we
should get a better view of Dragon-boy before anything too severe happens?"

Teisel's hair spiked, and his eyes shot open as he latched himself firmly on
a nearby wall-spanning pipe. "G-g-go out?! Are you INSANE?!" He knew he
wasn't going to get out of it. He leant over as the ship began changing its
weight, firing several small boosters to turn it around slowly. Tron lifted
a foot as the ship shuddered, and the floor behind her began to arc
downwards. She pivoted on her heel and marched below, with Teisel following
reluctantly, until both of them stood on the very edge of the lowered
platform. The rushing winds blew around Tron's hair, and made Teisel squeak
and drop to the ground in fear of being blown off. Proper lighting was
finally shed on the two.

Tron was outfitted in her normal, far-too-short pink outfit with black trim.
Her brown hair was held back in a bun, with a large clip with the same skull
design as the exterior of the ship. Teisel, who would normally be standing a
good foot-and-a-half above her, was fitted in a pale green hazard suit, with
white hair that was spiked backwards. He reached up with shaky hands and
slid a pair of safety goggles over his head and in front of his eyes.

Tron peered back and beneath her, where Teisel was still grasping the thin
metal catwalk for dear life. "Now, look at that thing. Does it look that
bad?"

"YES!!"

"No one is going to get this thing down except us," Tron muttered, turning
back out to Millenial. "We're going to make sure of i.. what the..!"

Tron shielded her face, grabbing onto a support as a helicopter roared by
her, less than ten feet from the platform. It kept flying at a tilt,
speeding toward the inner ring of ships. It levelled out a short distance
away, and began to lower altitude until it remained hidden in the pack.



********



The man squinted as he yanked the helicopter door open with one hand,
kneeling near the edge to get a good look ahead. He was immediately rushed
with the storm, blowing his pale white hair back. His cold blue eyes darted
along the surface of the ocean, until they finally caught on Millenial. He
frowned as he continued to bob. Muttering to himself, he dug in his pants
pocket and pulled out a spyglass, and stared off towards the Trance with it.

"Quite a sight, ain't it," the pilot hummed. "I understand why you'd want a
first-person view, but don't you still think it's a bit dange.."

"I can take care of myself," the man shot back. "Just do what I paid you
for."

"'kay, whatever, suit yourself." the figure shoved the spyglass back into
his pocket, and waddled backwards into the main compartment as the
helicopter abruptly twisted, and began a slow orbit around the island.
"...hey, before we go any further with this.. I never caught your name..."

The man paused, contemplating an answer, but shrugged and bent down towards
the storage chest. He pulled out several objects, including a large, plated
black belt with a pair of handguns on each hip, one black, one a lighter
grey. Grumbling to himself, he took up the ornament and slipped it
underneath his red overcoat, clipping it in the front. "..should it matter?"

"...well, I was just kinda curious, with your bizarre cargo and
everything..."

The comment got a half-smirk from his passenger. He stuck both hands into
the chest and lifted up a large sword, with a thick, white polished blade
and a giant hilt with a demon wing on both sides of the handle. He slid the
weapon back into its sheathe with care, and linked it up to a small sash,
tossing it over his shoulder. "...Dante Sparda."

"Really. Hey, what IS your business out here, anyways?"

"Gods 'n monsters, you know," Dante mumbled.

"Yer one of those paranormal investigators? Aren't you supposed to be with
the government or something?"

Dante stared back out into the maelstrom outside. "If I were I wouldn't be
hiring a freelance chopper, would I? You could say.. I'm in a more
specialized field."

"You some kind of negotiator then? I really don't know what's with all the
weapons.."

"I've dealt with these types before. You have to be ready." Dante grunted,
seating himself down at the far edge of the cargo chamber. "Everybody else
here is so damn interested in getting the readings off it for the World
State Government bounty, instead of watching themselves. Something's bound
to happen."

The pilot nodded. "I think you've got a point there, young man."



********



Magnopolis
12:04 PM


Magnus continued his sprint down a back alley, turning on a dime and dashing
into a back alley. While the loss of nearly all of his power level sapped
him of his Ki-assisted movement and flight among other things, his stamina
was legendary. He leapt over several hedges lined up in a person's yard,
taking him back out into a substreet. He slowed down to a jog, and peered
around the corner of a grocery store. His eyes went wide, as he hid himself
back behind the building as a tricycle hurtled through the air, nearly
hitting him square in the face. A storm of papers flew by shortly after.

"The wind's getting too powerful..." Magnus growled. "Pretty quick the
infrastructure itself of Magnopolis'll fail... and with a power level of 40
I don't think I'm going to be able to dodge flying cars and falling
buildings..." he slowly stuck his head out from behind and glanced down the
street. Most of the debris had been shoved off by the quickly cresting wind,
which left one lone man standing out alone in the street, draped in heavy
burgundy robes. His apparel flapped violently in the wind. "...sir! You have
to get out of the city! The wi.."

Magnus squeaked, throwing himself backwards as the man suddenly hurled
himself around and opened fire with a pair of assault rifles.

"They must have perimeter defense all around Techno Tower!" Magnus kept his
eyes on his side, as he heard clopping footsteps of the cloaked figure
pacing towards his hiding place. "...I can't fight long-distance without any
sort of Ki... if I keep everything close-range I SHOULDN'T have any
problems. But with no Ki defending me.." Magnus looked down at himself.
"...one direct bullet could be fatal."

"Freeze!"

Magnus' eyes cracked as he hurled himself to his side, tackling the armed
guard and sending the gun flying out of his hands. Before he could right
himself, Magnus flung a hook into the man's chest and sent him buckling to
the ground. Magnus delivered several fist bashes to his head before kneeing
him directly in the face, sending him in a spread-eagle to the pavement.
Scooping up the assault rifle, Magnus left the unconscious figure sprawled
on the pavement and began to make his way toward Techno Tower, looming off
in the distance. Several small bolts of lightning crackled off in the far
distance.



********



Argetlahm, El Trazos
12:10 PM





The water rushed underneath the glass plating. Ultimanium reached up and
swiped a pair of binoculars from atop the control panel and peered through
them, revealing Millenial and Xaeros off in the distance. Near the point of
conflict, the water had turned a stagnant green, and many of the ships could
be made out, hanging in the air like vultures. There was easily over five
hundred seperate transports surrounding Gaia's Isle.

"Man, oh man..." Shaun winced, staring out towards the Trances. "...the
dragon's Servant? Alright, I'm getting the drift that Trances are supposed
to be powerful but this is just ridiculous." He turned back to the other end
of the chamber, giving an uneasy smile to the rest of the crew, which was
lined up along the windows trying to get a good view of the Trances.

Charmy rubbed her arm against the glass plate. "Holy crap! Look at that
thing!... it's huge!"

Glenn and Locke squinted, then exchanged stares. "...whoa."

"What?" Trunks asked.

"Look carefully," Glenn murmured. "You can see some weird guy in bulky armor
floating a bit away from Servant."

"A BIT of size difference, if you ask me," Locke muttered.

Ultimanium continued to stare straight, though a frown was beginning to
develop. "The armored person is the Prospector. Both of the Trances' power
levels have diminished slightly from their full levels... they HAVE been
taking potshots at each other."

"Now THAT'S the bitchfight to end all bitchfights." Serge sighed.






****Hmm.. it looks like we have visitors.****






Everybody jumped as all the main screens blinked out in a flurry of static,
even Minonim, who had landed on his back and flopped around trying to move
his hoverboosters so he could right himself. All the displays were soon
replaced with Millenial, as it had done a short half-hour ago.

"Antimagnus.." Vegeta grit his teeth.

"You see me at long last, Argetlahm. I imagine the veterans of all people
are rather surprised that the second-hand man has full control now. Don't
worry about our friend Balkan, oh, wait, the 'Prospector', I promise to end
him quick and painless. As for you, YOU are the true threat to my position
as Master Trance. I am giving you a 500-foot clearance. As soon as you enter
my perimeter, the battle for Earth shall begin."

Raynor growled. "Why the hell should we believe you?"

"Because, my dear friend Raynor, if I absolutely desired to, I could
obliterate you from this distance. But I desire a fair fight - why should it
matter, you are going to lose anyways! Planetary destruction isn't my goal,
you fools... it is to defeat you and secure my place as ruler of all
Creation. Well, I certainly can't be keeping you, especially if you plan on
preparing for your demise. Ta ta." Ultimanium tried to speak, but the screen
immediately blanked out and returned to its normal display.

Takeru chuckled softly, earning disgusted stares from all around him.
"...nice."

Patamon eyes drooped. "You never CAN keep your big mouth shut, can you?"





********



El Trazos
12:11 PM








Slippy slapped both of his hands down onto the switches near him. "We're
picking up more readings. There's more ships flooding to Gaia's Isle, but a
Destroyer-Class cruiser is heading to park right in the front row."

Fox leant down near him. "Identification?"

"It's got a Universal Identification Number... #00450045ADD 52636246DEFB.
World State Government-authorized Destroyer-class transport space/terran
cruiser. Registered title - U.S.S. Argetlahm."

"Establish transmission. Let's see if they have any indication on current
events."

Slippy whistled as he punched several long digits into the keypad in front
of him, while Peppy and Falco looked over the other two's shoulders. A loud
crack played alongside the display's blurring, but quickly faded out as the
image in front of them slowly morphed into a view of the bridge of the
Argetlahm. Eric shoved his chair over to the terminal. "...yello, you've
reached the Argetlahm, and.."

"...could we speak with the captain of the ship, please?" Fox mumbled.

"Oh... sure. Ulty!" Eric rolled off the side of the screen, and backed off
as Ultimanium seated himself down infront of the panel. "..hello?"

"Are you one of the spectators here?" Falco smirked. "We're here trying to
figure out what the hell this thing is and how to stop it, but no one seems
to be making any moves."

Ultimanium lifted an eyebrow. "...are you with the United Nations?"

"Cornerian Special Forces, Star Fox unit," Fox said. "We were able to detect
rapid emission of Ki waves from the dragon and were sent to investigate...
don't worry about us, we have ships we can use if things get nasty..."

"Do me a favor," Ultimanium snarled. "Use them to get out of here. Do you
people have any idea what you're dealing with?"

"Probably!" Falco retorted. "And we're trained professionals!"

Ultimanium could be seen glanced around hesitantly as the screen began to
flicker. "Guys, it doesn't matter WHO you are or WHERE you're from, you
don't know what you're up against here! If you're the trained professionals
you insist you are, do us a favor and get as many people out of here as you
can! This is a serious matter!"

Fox looked over his shoulder. "Well, we AREN'T going to be leaving. This is
our matter too, you know. However, we'll try to get the non-armed craft out
of here. I don't think they'll listen very well, though."

Ultimanium nodded. "Thank you. It doesn't seem that you'll be moving from
this area, so maybe you'd like to dock with the Argetlahm for the time
being. Perhaps we could join forces?"

Fox glanced over to Slippy. "Verified?"

Slippy shrugged. "They're using a World State Government cruiser, even if it
is a bit dated. It's as official as you get."

"Well... I guess." Fox turned back to the monitor. "ETA?"

"2 minutes. You head 90N34W, we'll meet eachother in the middle."

"Sure thing." Fox blinked as the image faded out.

"I didn't think we'd need help THIS fast," Peppy sighed. "Maybe we ARE
getting rusty."

Everybody stared at him.

"..um.. forget I said anything."




********




Dante sat, poised on the cast iron bench bolted to the interior wall of the
helicopter as its orbit around Millenial continued. He rubbed his chin,
nearly bored into submission.

"We're down to a quarter tank. If we want to get back to shore safely, we're
going to have to leave in half an hour."

"Just great." Dante scowled. "Something's got to happen..." his eyes caught
on the Argetlahm as it could be seen putting over the horizon. Dante watched
in amazement as Millenial's giant mass shifted itself so it was able to
watch the ship slowly slide into the ring of transports, dwarfing many of
them save for the other World State Government and UN ships in the area.
Asides, the only other ship that compared to the cruiser was the Great Fox,
which had since latched itself onto the ship via the secondary hangar.
"...there's something about that carrier... hey, take us in a little closer,
the dragon's showing interest in one of the ships."

"Sure thing." Dante buckled as the helicopter shifted onto an angle and
lowered further toward Millenial, who began to move straight past Xaeros.
Xaeros turned as well, confused by his opponent's ignorance. The helicopter
soon turned level another hundred feet closer to Millenial. By this time,
Dante could begin to make out the large destroyer against the hazy sky.

"Whatever's going on..." Dante grumbled. "It isn't going to be very
negotiatable for long."




********




Argetlahm
12:14 PM




"That's about the gist of things." Ultimanium turned back, planting his
palms down on the control panel in front of him. "This thing is bigger than
all of us. It has already surpassed power that of Ultramagnus'... this is
our legacy. We have to stop this thing, and so far morale has been extremely
cooperative toward that goal."

Falco smirked. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... these kids are out here to KILL this
thing? Are you nuts?"

"We don't have much choice," Shaun slurred. "If we let Antimagnus remain in
Trance for too long, soon these storms will cover the entire planet. At that
point it would take a MIRACLE to stop him at the source."

Slippy smiled uneasily, holding up a long sheet of printout that stretched
several feet down and across the floor. "Well, according to the power level
readings you guys got, you already NEED a miracle."

Gohan sighed. "Well, maybe less so now..."

Takato stared out into the open with squinted eyes. "Well, looks like he's
taken notice of us. Wonder if he likes our new paint job."

Cody sat halfway on one of the console stools, watching its readings. "He's
coming, alright, our ETA just dropped by three minutes..."

"Current ETA?" Eric asked.

"At current velocity, three minutes."

"Well, what're we waitin' for?" Raynor spat. He shoved himself off the
floor, grasping the barrel of his gauss rifle in one hand as he slunk off
toward the turbolift.

Locke glanced back, as everybody began lifting themselves from their seats
and made their way toward the turbolift. "Um... Ulty?"

"...yes?"

Locke frowned. "How... exactly are we supposed to fight?"

"...go onto the main deck? The turbolifts'll take you there."

Locke tugged his collar. "Well, um, you DO know that Antimagnus could
probably just obliterate the ship out from underneath us, do you?"






Silence.



Eric, Shaun, and Ultimanium all stared at each other.

"DAMN IT!!"




********



Takeru looked up from his perch out in the hall. He sat slumped down on the
floor against the wall, watching as the rest of the crew slumped disgustedly
down the hall to the turbolift. Sighing to himself, he propped himself up
with the Sword of Truth, using his other hand to unclip his D3 from his
armor. Patamon lifted himself up in the air and kept a constant hover
parallel to the man's shoulder. "Time?"

TK nodded. "Time." He raised the blade, examining the faint etchings in the
sword he had both made over time and got with the deal. Takeru blinked as,
with an audible wave, his reflection in the finely polished metal rippled
slightly. "...um.. okay."

"Takeru!"

Takeru glanced around himself, suddenly awake. "Wha? Raul? That you? Where
the hell are you?"

"I'm not here, you moron!" Raul scowled. "I'm communicating with you
directly through the Great Smiths! They DO have links to most artifact
weapons, you know. Ultimanium seems to have done himself into a corner with
his plan to attack Antimagnus. He's setting everybody on the deck of the
Argetlahm, pawns! Fighting a Trance in that corner will be like fighting a
cougar inside a cardboard box! I've done some testing, and I have a spell
ready that should even the odds somewhat... at least mobility-wise. The
spell Current Shift will give you flawless flight in calm-air conditions,
and you will be able to direct yourself using your mind."

Takeru grinned. "Sweet! You have the wording ready?"

"Memorize it, you won't be able to use it personally quite yet," Raul spoke.
"The entire crew will need this ability for the next while. Don't worry
about them not being able to handle it, the skill should become second
nature to them in a period of a couple minutes. However, you will not have
enough energy to cast it on the entire crew. I can 'pulse' the spell through
you, though, that should do the trick... just hold up the Sword of Truth and
focus through it."

Takeru held up the blade so he stared straight onto the hilt, which seemed
to light up slightly as Raul finished. A small beam of blue energy connected
with TK, seemingly forcing the spell wording into his mind.












Roadways of the Ancients,
Grandeur transportation!
Energy granted to the earthborne
To keep you high and stable.

Ride the currents, crest the clouds,
Your password wizard might.
Grant thou access to the winds
And give us flawless flight!





TK gaped as a blue runic pattern spread from his feet, blasting up over him
before he could add anything else. As he opened his eyes, he noticed the
hall unchanged. It was when he attempted to take a step forward that he
realized that he was against the celing.

Takeru attempted to push himself off the wall nearest him to gain momentum,
but found that his reflexes had made him start paddling his legs in one
direction - he was literally walking on air. "...whoa!..."

"Geez!" Patamon attempted to push himself towards the ground, but found
unseen forces trying to keep him at his current altitude. "That's powerful
crap!"

"That should be good enough, we don't have to worry about going down within
the first two minutes," Raul continued. "Go out there and keep Antimagnus
busy as long as you can. I'll be on my way up as soon as possible. Until
then, good luck."

Takeru nodded into thin air. "You too." He turned back to Patamon, still
stuck in the air. "How about it, are we ready?"

"More than ever!"

Patamon... digivolve to...
Angemon!
Angemon... digivolve to...
MagnaAngemon!!



********


Takeru and MagnaAngemon soon found themselves up on the expansive top of the
Argetlahm. There was no actual formal deck, simply the curved surface of the
top of the ship. The only true flat surface available was a small
maintenance platform where the turbolift came up from. Takeru grimaced.
Every single person on the exterior was floating a good five feet off the
hull of the Argetlahm, all experimenting with their new power and
experiencing moderate success. Raynor and Cody completely whomped into each
other, Crono was wallkicking off one of the giant fins of the ship, Locke
and Trunks charged and ricocheted off each other, launching their opponents
to new heights over the ship that seemed impossible. Takato, Rika and their
digimon were simply getting accustomed to the new degree of movement.
Guilmon completely threw himself onto his face, somehow. Eric and Shaun
bobbed motionlessly in the air, discussing among themselves. Ultimanium
simply stared off into the distance, where Millenial and the El Trazos oil
platform lied.

Shaun frowned as he peered off. In one hand, he held the Mega Launcher,
which appeared rather intimidating for a personal firearm, given that the
gun itself was over two-thirds longer than him. He clicked a 120mm slug into
the main barrel before returning it to his side. He quickly glanced up.
"...do you feel something?"

Eric blinked. "Huh?"

Shaun let out a gasp, followed by a short, high-pitched yell. "Something
just shocked m... wha.. what the hell....?" Shaun bent down, turning behind
him. Seated seemingly TOO perfectly behind him.. was a Miacas.

"Weird," Eric knelt down, picking up the small statuette. "How the heck did
this get here? And aren't they supposed to run away from you?"

"Guess he never seen it coming," Shaun grunted. "It should transfer the
powers any moment. I don't know why we're worrying about the Miacas, I mean,
it wouldn't come to me.... not unless... not... unless..." Shaun quickly
dropped off.

"Unless what?"

"..unless.. the Craymel were in danger somehow."

Shaun and Eric both glanced at the Miacas, which slowly turned a bright blue
and began playing a message. "The holder of the Miacas, in this case, has
been defined worthy by the spirit of the Craymel. You possess earlier
techniques of the Craymel, and have used them to great effect in the past."

Shaun scratched the back of his head. "..I did?"

"Yes. You were able to boost the Pow Hammer up to a much higher level than
we had previously guessed of you, the heir to the Miacas. This Miacas has
been provided to you, containing the Elemental Gunmaster techniques crafted
by the Craymel. You will now be able to charge your Mega Launcher with
varying elemental attributes, and you will be able to combo different
elements with practice." Another short burst of lightning caught Shaun in
the chest, making him wince.

Shaun stood back up. "Okay, that's fine and all, but what's the deal? Max
said that I was supposed to find the Miacas for myself, and..."

"There are evil thoughts in the air, Shaun," the Miacas droned. "Evil
thoughts, that concern the Craymel Spirits. We fear that the entities
created in the past week on this planet, Earth, may be on the same level as
the Craymel Spirits. Now is a time of urgency, Shaun. We can no longer wait
for your trial to find us. You must defeat these artificial weapons, and
ensure the future legacy of the Craymel. It is your mission."

Shaun's eyes nearly bugged out, but he breathed deep, bowing to the Miacas.
"..I will." He latched his arms onto the Mega Launcher, and stood ready.

"Hey, Shaun..." Eric chuckled. "What EXACTLY is all this Craymel stuff, the
Miacas, and what exactly does this all have to do with the Trances...?"

"All I know..." Shaun growled. "..is that Antimagnus and the Trances must
die."



********


Magnopolis
12:14 PM



Magnus yelped as he ducked out of another alleyway, several cloaked men in
pursuit. He dashed in a windsprint straight down the vacant street, not
being helped one bit by the torrential rainstorm that accompanied the
steadily increasing winds. Magnus scooped up a bicycle and threw it through
the window of a nearby second-hand store, grabbing a large handgun from the
main display. He turned and immediately started firing, though his shots
ricocheted all over the place, not one of them hitting the figures. It did
make them hop all over, though. "Damn it! Never was a gun person..." Magnus
threw the gun at the group, it hitting one person in the forehead and
knocking him down. The other two on his flanks advanced, their assault
rifles blazing. Magnus ducked behind a nearby lamppost, narrowly missing
several shells as they whizzed by his head. As the assailants approached on
both sides, Magnus pivoted his elbows up on each side and clotheslined both
of them, sending them down. He jumped out and stretched out his legs,
stomping both of their chests, before seizing their guns. He held one in
each hand, checking behind him to make sure no more people had any ideas.
The street was clear.

Magnus grimaced. "Hah, who needs a power level... this is too easy already."
He turned back to the store, which shattered display had set off a burglar
alarm. A pair of used 29" TVs were set up at the far edge of the window,
still left on. As was to be expected in the situation, it was a news
broadcast.

"We bring you an update on the Ki wave tragedy that is currently sweeping
the world. At this point in time, an outstretch of the wave is currently in
reach of the coast near the southern US, and all shoreline cities have been
evacuated, namely major cities in Florida and New York City. Magnopolis
still remains the most savagely torn point in the storm, its winds
approaching upwards of 200 km/h during its last update ten minutes ago. As
for future plans, provincial premiers in Canada, the most concerned ones in
the Maritime provinces and Canada's manufacturing core, have agreed and
presented the idea to the Prime Minister to begin a massive evac push into
the prairie and central provinces. Already, major highways are completely
stopped up with traffic, and it's only piling up from there. Many European
countries have followed suit, leaving their regards with Great Britian
before ditching their embattlements and moving east."

Magnus planted his feet, wrapping his arms around the lamppost to keep
himself standing. A SUV tumbled down the street in the background. "Oi..
this is insane! What the hell is Ultimanium doing?" Magnus planted his hands
inside the window, beginning to push himself up the sidewalk. "..urrgh..
I've never going to make it, with this kind of power level! If I could get
some kind of source of life energy..." Magnus slowly crept up the street,
before stopping out of breath in front of a grocery store. Panting, he
turned to the window -

- and saw a small 5-kilo sack of icing sugar.

Magnus stared confused at the condiment. The proverbial lightbulb flicked
on.

"...oh, man, I am SOOO going to regret this..."



********



Argetlahm
12:15 PM



Everybody stood ready. Charmy hid slumped behind the ship's fin, performing
some last minute prayers. Crono slowly began to draw his katana as the sky
around the Argetlahm began to darken slightly.

"..crap.." Ultimanium breathed. He dropped his hands, and let them go limp
as they began to gather energy.

As the dark fog began to part, everybody stared upwards, aghast. Floating a
couple dozen feet from the Argetlahm... was Millenial.

"Antimagnus..." Heero growled. He reached for his handgun, but left his hand
on the holster.



Millenial glanced between the small army that had gathered on the exterior
of the Argetlahm. "...well, Ultimanium, I see you've gathered up quite the
posse. Hey, I even see a couple of familiar faces. Hey, TK. Missin' Kari,
aren't you? Give my regards to Davis."

Takeru growled, but kept the Sword of Truth at his side. MagnaAngemon
twitched as the blade pulsed a slow, steady white.

"You have come, to fight me, Antimagnus. I have fully harnessed the Trance,
and frankly I'm not afraid to use it. Ultimanium, prepare to die. You seem
to have put your little army in a most undesirable fighting stance. You know
how easy it would be for me to destroy the very ship underneath you and
eradicate you in one fell swoop?"

Serge attempted to open his mouth, but found that no words were coming out.

"Oh, don't even start, Serge," Millenial scowled. "I know all about your
'advantage'. Takeru focused one of Raul's enchantments on the crew, I can
feel it. No sense rambling on about that. Tell me, if you all had your
'flawless flight', would THIS matter much?!"

Guilmon lurched. "Oh.. N..!!!"



Everybody buckled as the entire Argetlahm itself was launched out from
underneath them. Everybody began furiously paddling their legs as they
attempted to hang in the air. Soon, the most aggravated of the crewmembers
were literally flipping six degrees in the air, trying to reclaim themselves
from vertigo. Rika, Gohan and Ultimanium were the first to right themselves.

"Er.." Ultimanium frowned, glancing over to see Locke spinning at the right
speed to be just a blur. "...let's get everybody right-side-up."

Rika and Gohan nodded, and floated over, grabbing onto people and pulling
them back into place.

"Ugh..." Raynor rubbed his head. "I think I'm gonna be sick..."

"...guys?" Eric shouted, looking around. "Where's the Argetlahm?"

"Oh, don't worry," Millenial croaked. "I put it in a safe place. Enough of
this jabbering. Get your pawns in place, Ultimanium. Now... we will see who
truly won against Ultramagnus!"



********


Dante stood, slackjawed. Whatever just happened, he did not believe it.

Millenial had just taken a destroyer class cruiser and flicked it into the
next time zone.

Dante soon regained his composure, but nearly fell on his ass as a
quad-formation of blue-white plated fighters roared through the air ahead of
him. "This is nuts!... are you seeing this?!"

"We've got to head back soon. I wasn't expecting to have to head back so
early, but the winds are getting too strong for the chopper. I'd say five
minutes."

As Dante turned back to the open door, his mind was suddenly struck with a
flash of power. He knew it when he felt it. It was Mundus-class power. And
anything Mundus-related made him feel that much more po'ed-action oriented.
"The power... of that thing.. is incredible!" Dante felt something twinge
inside as Devil Trigger attempted to force its being into place. However,
Dante mollified what feelings he could and tried to focus the unholy powers
into attempting to hear exactly what was going on down there... with the
floating people. As he attempted to tune in, he snatched up Alastor, holding
it by himself, ready for what was to happen.











********




"Ready to face your fate?"

Ultimanium lead the charge. "Spirit Surge!!" Ultimanium screamed in deep
octave as he let loose a flood of blue energy from his palms, centered at
Millenial's face. Millenial roared as he threw his arm back at the upsurge,
blasting it apart and shattering its influence in a spectactular blue
shockwave. The force rippled, parting the water beneath Millenial and
sending several larger boats drifting away from the impact site.


********


Dante's eyes went wide. "Oh.. shit!!"


********


Tron and Teisels', on the other hand, practically fell out. "AAAAHHHH!!!"


********


Screams and yells echoed out through the air as boats, hovercraft and
virtually everything else at the site began a 180, attempting to dodge the
tidal wave that was headed toward them. Luckily, it began to subside near
them, simply lifting them up above normal sea level rather than tossing them
a good 200 feet. Motors, small and large, buzzed through the air as the
crowd of over 500 individual transports began a mass exodus leading in a
radius of Millenial.

"Huuurrraggghh!!" Takato bellowed, pointing to the wind as the rest of the
crew shot by him. He ripped up the Wildcard, and struck it through the slot
on his D-Arc.

"Digi-modify! Digivolution.. activate!!"
"Digi-modify! Culumon's Matrix Digivolution.. activate!!"
"Digi-modify! Aero Wing.. activate!!
"Digi-modify! Wargreymon's Brave Shield.. activate!!"
"Digi-modify! Black Gear.. activate!!"

Wargrowlmon shot up into the sky, nearly uprooting Takato with him. The Aero
Wing gave him even greater dexterity in the air than with his jets and the
Current Shift.

Gohan rocketed upwards ahead of him, his face twisting as Takeru, Cody,
Crono and Serge flew up on his flanks. V2 finally rose over everybody. "Hey,
tubby! I was one of the biggest asses to Ultramagnus eons ago, and you know
that! Take me first!!"

"Aeon Force!!" Millenial growled, sending a 40-foot lance piercing from his
chest, hurtling through the air straight toward V2.

"Super-Cutesy-Beam-Blaster!!" V2 countered, putting both his hands in
gun-positions and blasting forth with a wide, shearing beam, that rose up
and behind him as it blasted forward. The attack washed over Millenial's
with a gigantic crack. Everybody tried shielding their eyes, but instead
continued forward through the air, their target set. V2 blinked in confusion
as the lance of light finally punched through his attack, headed straight
for him.

Veemon... digivolve to...
VEEDRAMON!!

"V-Breath Arrow!!" V2 fired a shocking cresent at the projectile, shattering
its front end. Still, the attack charged forward, blasting straight through
V2 and carrying on into the sky as it began to fade. V2 shook his head,
shuddering as electricity pulsed over him.

"Aeon Force!!"

"You have more power than that!!" Gohan screamed, curving around and
shooting through the air by V2 again. "Come on!!"

V2 grimaced as he rose his head up, watching as another dart of energy tore
through the air at him. "...Cutter... Shoot!!" V2 quickly threw his arms up
and back down, sending parallel waves of energy out. As before, the counter
only clipped away at the Aeon Force, subjecting V2 to another attack. The
smaller part of the Aeon Force struck V2 again, this time sending the
fracture straight through his chest, leaving parts of the lance, easily five
feet long on both sides, sticking out of him. V2 let out a deep roar as he
began to lower out of the air, dark red blood beginning to seep out of his
gigantic wound.

"Veemon!!!" Gohan screamed, rushing back to his digimon partner. Gohan slung
one of V2's bulky arms around his shoulder, supporting him in the air.
"No... V2..." Gohan nearly dove off when V2's skin began to pulse in
particles of data, threatening to explode off. "...no!"

"Man, that stings," V2 winced. His voice garbled as his data attempted to
tear away. "...damn, I've gotta stop being the first one to attack. I mean,
this WAS the first time I actually... t-tried something.. but... still..."

Takeru sat in the air, wobbling, as was everybody else. "What the hell!...
Antimagnus... is taking out V2 in one shot! Ultramagnus couldn't even handle
his ROOKIE!"

Gohan was fervant at this point. He rubbed his free hand up and down V2's
snout, his voice beginning to reverberate into sobs. "..what's the.. deal?
This can't... be happening!"

"STOP this already!" Millenial bellowed.

"This is.. too early!..." V2 began to sink in Gohan's arms. "I was always
wishing to be one of the true Digidestined... after... the D3 came.. we
never had any real Digital adventures.. but still.. we still need.. to have
one! Veemon... what are you.. d.."

Takeru was dumbstruck. "...Gohan... what was stopping you?!"

"I never was a real Digidestined... V2 never had any interaction with the
digital world... how can a digimon not be digital? I mean.. his Champion
form was a total freak accident... can I truly be a Digidestined?"

"...yes... you can."

Gohan tossed his head back up, his lower face drenched with his own tears.
It was V2 talking to him. "... without a Digidestined, Champion would have
taken me generations... you still helped me with that, Gohan. You are... my
partner."

Gohan coughed, feeling his face begin to dry. "..."

"We can still make it, Gohan," V2 coughed. "All we need is another.. 'freak
accident'."

Gohan held V2 down, staring at him in disbelief. He then realized what he
meant. Nodding, he tossed him back out into the air, letting him hover.
"...freak accident coming right up."

"Oh, what's this?" Millenial laughed. "Giving ME the mercy killing? You
shouldn't have! Arc Infinity!!" Millenial reared back, before tearing back
forward with a giant beam of energy, several times larger than V2's Blaster.

Gohan glared back at Millenial, light ripping across his face as the
Infinity overtook the sky. "You call that a Ki blast?! I'll give you a Ki
blast you'll never forget!! KAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEE..."

Closer.

"HAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE..."

"GOHAN!!" Takeru screamed. "GET OUT OF THERE!!"

"Jesus Christ!!" Ultimanium screeched.

Closer.

"...HAAAAAAAAAMEEEEEEEEE.."

"Damn it, that little bastard!!" Vegeta yelled. "Just fire the damn thing
already!! You don't have that kind of time!!"

Closer.

"...HAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEE..."

V2 slowly pulled himself up. "..uh.. Gohan..."

"...HAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE..."

Closer.

"...HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..."

Eric sweatdropped. "..oh.. shit." At that point, time had seemingly slowed
to a crawl, as energy crescented around Gohan. He barely kept his stance,
unable to contain the blast.

Closer.

"..."

Closer.

"..."

Closer.

V2 shielded his eyes. "Quick and painless quick and painless quick and
painless quick and painless quick and painless quick and painless quick and
painless..."






"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"








Everybody's view suddenly went yellow. Rika, at the very front, shielded her
eyes, followed by everyone else, as a Kamehameha just as large as the Arc
Infinity rumbled through the air to collide with Millenial's attack - V2 was
directly in the blasting path.

Takato winced. "That's going to be kind of painful."

Millenial looked down on V2.

He was greeted with a grin.




V2 flung himself down and around, facing in a spread-eagle towards Gohan's
Kamehameha.

"AAAUUUUGGGHHH!!" Charmy squealed. "NO WAY!!"



Silence filled the air. Followed by an earth-shattering crack. An epic flash
later, the Kamehameha was gone. V2 was turned around, facing the Arc
Infinity with fists clenched. He still pulsed in danger of deleting, but
seemed to be oblivious to it.


"You will die!!" Millenial laughed.






"KAME FLARE!!!" V2 threw his limbs back, every visible surface on his body
bursting outwards in a normal-Kamehamea-sized blast of energy. Any lights
that escaped his back curled around him, winding towards Millenial. Gohan
barely escaped being fried in the backwash. Millenial's smile quickly faded
as he noticed at least sixty normal Kamehameas on a streak towards him.

"No.. way!!" Millenial roared as a sheet of Ki energy blasted off his skin,
blasting apart several Kamehamehas as they rocketed through the air. In the
end, however, at least a dozen of the attacks had survived, and struck
Millenial dead on in the chest. The dragon reared back its head in a pained
bellow as he began to fall backwards out of the sky.





"You're not done with me yet!!" V2 yelled. Gohan found himself rearing back
as V2 began pulsing wildly with energy once again. "As a Digidestined
digimon.. you have more than one form of me to deal with!!"

Gohan's eyes went wide. "Are you...?




MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION...


"Veedramon.. digivolve to!..."

Veedramon tossed his arms back again, exposing his toothy grin. The scene
around him turned to rapidly wilting wasteland, as a pair of demon wings
burst out from his back in a shower of refuse, plating themselves as they
wrapped back around him. A bright flash later, the wings that braced V2's
sides were completely lined with chrome, which spread across his skin like a
volitile infection. His upper body locked itself in a breastplate, the
center glowing and fading off into the Kame logo. V2's form screeched as its
limbs stretched out of proportion, his arms/legs/neck stretching out to
nearly double their lengths. As his main body began to bulk up, the expanses
of his outstretches rose up with another armoring. He finally cocked his
head backwards, letting out a vibrating roar, before the pyrotechnics
finally faded. At fifteen feet, V2 was practically a minor dragon.

"...Hyrdamon!!"

Rika winced, quickly tapping in keys on her D-Arc. "...Hyrdamon, Ultimate
level Phantom Dragon digimon. A rare digivolution line of the Vee family,
often only occuring from direct blessing of a higher level digimon or
Digicore. His beam attacks have reached their current apex, as his V-Phasor
practically slices AIR apart!"

Millenial struggled, righting himself. "You seriously think even an Ultimate
can stand up against me?!"

"Hey, hey, who's forgetting about the rest of us?!" Eric shouted. "Let's
show this ass how much of a difference the secondary cast makes!!"

Crono seemed more moved by that comment than anybody else. With that, the
entire line of crewmembers began their charge. All the melee fighters tore
through the air towards Millenial, while the ranged personnel proceeded at a
slower pace. Raynor grimaced, as, next to him, Shaun hefted the bulky Mega
Launcher up into the air, its shell clicking into place. "..r-r-...Rage
Laser!!" Raynor buckled in the air, pointing his gauss rifle for a barrage
on Millenial, the Mega Launcher nearly catapaulting Shaun back as a massive
crackle of wild red/blue energy ripped from the barrel of the hand cannon. A
gigantic ball of energy surrounding the shell tore ahead of the turbulence,
headed straight for Millenial. The ball impacted with an earth-shattering
explosion that kicked up a near tidal wave beneath the Trance, sending
Millenial nearly instantly into the water.

Shaun blinked, sweatdropping. "...er... ow."

Further ahead, Eric, Crono, Locke and Cody blazed down and slammed into
Millenial, pushing the wall of water up even higher around them. For a split
second, it would seem that the water was going to fold inwards on top of
Millenial, but it continued on its normal course. Millenial tossed his head
back as Crono plunged his sword into the dragon's tough hide, not getting
any indication of damage. Until another roar bellowed from Millenial,
causing him to flit around to attempt to stay on the slippery surface. The
dragon tossed his head back, exposing a blue-white crystal on the underside
of his throat.


********


"...a weak spot!!" Dante growled. "..I have no more time to stand here..."
He snatched up Alastor, glancing back to the pilot. "...alright, you can
head back now."

The pilot turned back, confused. "...huh? WHA?!"

The pilot watched helplessly as Dante held his sword out, sticking it out
straight ahead of him. With a gentle shove of his feet, Dante plunged out of
the open door of the chopper - face down.

"...DAMN IT!!" The pilot screamed. He quickly banked the helicopter to get a
better view of the red-sheeted body as it flipped downwards through the air,
still somehow managing to keep the sword perfectly in front of him. The
pilot shoved his head out of the window, being hit in the face with the
wrath of the storm, as Dante seemed to slow down in the air. With a
magnificent burst of purple lightning, Dante's shredded clothes fell through
the air. His sword had disappeared.

What floated there was an eight-foot-tall winged demon.

The pilot simply let his jaw drop as Dante spun in place, lowering himself
horizontally before launching himself at Millenial. As the Trance began to
recover, he was struck at the orb by a bolt of lightning. A directed one.

"HHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!" Millenial screeched.
"Who...dares... get... in... my way?!?"

"What the hell?!" Locke shouted.

Everybody looked up, bracing themselves as black blood flooded over and
around the skin that they were supported on. Dante hovered in the air, his
palms locked and smoking from the blast.



********


"AAAAAAAAH!!"
"AAAAAAAAh!!"

"What do we do?!"
"Don't ask me, you twit!!"

"Ba-boo?"

"NO!!" Both Tron and Teisel screamed at the probe. "We are NOT involving
ourselves any further with this mess."

"All hell has, in fact, broken loose!" Teisel winced.

"I want to live long enough to have some sort of profit!" Tron cried.

"Ba-ba-boo." both Tron and Teisel sat, dumbstruck, as Bon simply rolled
right off the platform, diving into the ocean below.

"...AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" both pirates screeched.

"You get him!"
"No, you!!"

"We don't have that kind of time! That... THING is getting closer to us as
long as those other morons are fighting it!!"
"We don't have any choice! We have to fight too!!"

Teisel blinked. "...WHAT?! Are you out of your mind?!"

Tron grinned, regaining her composure. "It's pretty simple. We just watch
the entire fight, head back to shore first, and tell the officials we were
the one that killed dragon-boy here. We'll be heroes!"

"No, we'll just be rich."

"... shut up. C'mon, we have to follow Bon." Tron pointed out into the
ocean, where Bon could be seen being tossed by the waves closer to
Millenial.


********


"FIRE AT WILL!! FIRE AT WILL!!" Fox kept gasping to himself, slapping
various buttons on the inside canopy of the Arwing. All four ships joined in
formation, banking back towards Millenial, sending a surge of lasers through
the air at the distracted Trance. Every shot was a direct hit, though little
damage could be seen other than burns.

"This... isn't working!!" Falco yelled through his comm. "How are the guys
down there taking it?!"

"...not too good."


********





"Attaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!" Ultimanium screamed.






----------
Is it all just.. lunacy?
----------





In one giant, ear-splitting cry, Millenial blasted out of the water,
flinging all his attackers hundreds of feet into the air. Dante's eyes went
wide as the Argetlahm attackers hurtled past him, screaming higher and
higher. There was a tidal wave heading for him.

"You.. will not defeat me so easily!! Accursed Argetlahm, I am the Trance of
Trances, ages beyond your Ultramagnus!!

"You.. shall all now experience TRUE pain!!"




It was at that point Armageddon begun.




---------------
Let's take a blast to the moon, baby
(I sit around wishing you well)
How I'm craving you, yeah
---------------



Locke threw his dagger back down as he spun back into control, nearly a
thousand feet above the ocean. Everybody else soon regained their
calibration, hovering above Millenial as he rose. Nearly hundred of cuts and
bruises covered his body, and the jewel on his neck was nearly burnt out,
however Millenial himself showed no sign of stopping.

"Arc Infinity!!"



---------------
Everytime I'm near you
(always wanna swallow you down)
I'll be right here if you need me
---------------



Everybody's jaws dropped as Millenial blew back a white sphere of death from
his body, throwing away every last ship, and totally obliterating both
Gaia's Isle and the nearby El Trazos platform.

Shaun's face went crestfallen. "..oh...no."



********



Magnus flipkicked off of the lobby walls, narrowly dodging a spreadfire of
bullets as they chipped away at a pillar near him. He marched straight down
the center of the corridor, sweeping both assault rifles in front of him,
mowing down cloaked workers as they charged out of Techno Tower's siderooms.

---------------
In my life, I'll need you here
---------------

Magnus immediately stopped his frontward move and went down onto one hand,
flipping in a zig-zag pattern across the open grounds as more assailants
from the overhang floor above sniped down onto the lobby. During his upward
pushes, Magnus took several more bursts with the rifles, injuring another
soldier.

---------------
Don't ask why, I'll never disappear
---------------

Magnus quickly hurled himself inside the elevator, hammering the top floor
button as hard as he could. The doors quickly slammed shut, deflecting
another barrage of gunfire as the overhang received reinforcements. Magnus
watched with a grim frown as the glass tubing the elevator was situated in
was riddled with bulletholes.

---------------
Why is it everyday that I feel the pain?
---------------

Magnus slumped himself down the side of the elevator car.

And he cried.

---------------
(Yeeeeeah)
---------------



********


Ultimanium's pupils shrank as he saw Millenial rising over him, dwarfing
everything else that remained standing at the epicentre of his attack. All
around the Trance, the crewmembers could be seen rushing Millenial, and
being batted away like insects. A backhand sent Dante spiraling downwards
into the surf, while a simple flick tore apart Slippy's Arwing.

"AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!"
"Slippy! Get out of there!!" Peppy growled.


---------------
Let's take a trip to the stars far away
(Where were you when I was down?)
---------------


A small canister, an eject module, plunged out the bottom of the Arwing,
mere seconds before the craft exploded in the air. The pressurized container
was tossed violently in the ocean.

Ultimanium growled deep, clenching his fist close to the point of making it
go limp. Crono in the distance could be seen cracking the crystal with his
sword with one slash, but was instantly tossed away by a giant shock of Ki.

***Do it, Ultimanium. You know you want to.***


---------------
Staring into the dead (yeah)
---------------


"Don't.. Trance." Takeru gasped. He rose his head out of the water, a
recently battered Patamon hanging loosely on his shoulder. "...he wants you
to... so... I don't.. know..."

Charmy supported herself on a scrap of wood floating on the water, pumping
round after round of PSG1 ammo into the air. "Don't, Ulty, he's got some
kind of plan!"


---------------
My pain is caused by my pleasure
(My soul mate lives in your body)
---------------


Ultimanium's eyes glinted blue as he stared upwards at Millenial. "Try me."



---------------
I can't get you out of my head
(It never goes away)
---------------






*******
TRANCE...
*******




********


Magnus screamed, over and over, as his bullets discharged in bursts. A small
LED indicator on the side of the gun ticked down rapidly as the Saiyan tore
through the higher mezzaine of the Tower, the body count rising accordingly.


---------------
In my life, I'll need you here
---------------


In the far-off cubicle, he could see the looks of surprise on the four
hostages as a massive gunfight ensued around the inner offices. Magnus leapt
up flipping, and using his other hand pushed himself off a thin cubicle wall
high into the air above the workspace, raining down lead on the surrounding
openings.


---------------
Don't ask why, I'll never disappear
---------------


Magnus roared as he finally burst into the locked chamber, capping both cult
members in a dual burst. Underneath a table a distance away, the hostages,
two World State Government workers and two secretaries, hid, watching the
event. Magnus growled as he kicked the bodies lifeless, and tore the table
off the group - giving them a half-hearted grin.


---------------
In your eyes, you can bid me farewell
---------------


"Geez, this is something Ulty would've done."


---------------
But don't ever try to understand my situation
---------------


********


Ultimanium stared up, baring his teeth in a pained growl. His hair flashed
up in a brilliant burst of light, turning silver as his eyes dyed blue. A
white/purple aura blasted out from under his feet.

Almost immediately, he felt his psyche collapse.


---------------
Why, is it everyday, that I feel the pain?
(It always comes when I'm least expecting it
When I look for love I seem to be regretting it)
---------------


"Go, Ultimanium, go to the Trance!! Feel the power only we feel... and join
up with us!! We shall rule the universe as brothers!!"

Ultimanium charged up Ki in both hands. "..."


---------------
Why is it everyday that I feel the pain?
---------------


"Come and get me."


---------------
Yeeeee-eeeah
---------------


"...so be it."



---------------
Yeah
---------------





********



Both Omnimanium and Millenial screamed, higher than could ever be imagined.
And they collided.

"Arc Infinity!!"
"Super Spirit Surge!!"

Every tree on the planet could be felt shuddering as two giant lasers flew
from the sky, directed at each other, both threatening to change the
gravitational alignment of the planet. They collided... and caused the
waters beneath it not to be blown out of the way...

...well, they WERE blown out of the way, the naked eye wouldn'tve known it,
though.

In a good 20-mile radius of the struggle, water didn't EXIST. A giant drop
beneath them, straight to a soggy dirt floor, showed the normally invisible
bottom of the Atlantic.

"YOU SHALL DIE!!" Millenial screamed, blasting outwards with a wave of Ki
that spread in all directions. Everybody.. was in the blast radius.




Rika's eyes went wide, as she tossed herself into position in the air.
Directly in front of Eric.

"...WHA?!"

"V-Phasor!!"
"We're going down!!!"
"Burning Force!!"
"Mayday! Maydaaaay!!"
"Ulty!!!"
"Digi-modify!"
FWASH
"Destroy them all!!!"
"Ba-boo!"
"Feel the blade of the Alastor!!"
"DIE!!"
FWASH
"..."
"Takato!!"
FWASH
"Turbolift!"
"I NEED THOSE GOGGLES!!"
"Eric Power."
"Magnopolis will be hit with 200 km/h winds..."
FWASH
"RRRRRRRIIIIIKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAA!!"
FWASH
"Cornerian Special Forces, Star Fox unit."
FWASH
"Call me Alex Mann."
FWASH
"NO. No, no, no. No."
FWASH
"Oooh, a mercenary! Tanya just loves those!"
FWASH
FWASH
FWASH
FWASH
FWASH
FWASH
FWASH
FWASH





































































































































































































































Magnopolis
3:24 AM



Magnus plodded up the stairs, pushing hard against a pair of heavy wooden
doors that arched on the celing. He climbed back out onto the floor above
him, checking around him once more before advancing. Several shelves were
toppled, spilling various jars and boxes of consumables onto the floor. A
five-dollar bill floated across the breeze, exposed among other things from
the overturned cash register that used to be sitting on a counter at the far
edge of the store.

"...whoa.." Magnus blinked. He licked his index finger, sticking it up into
the air. "...holy crap, there's nothing left!" Magnus dropped his hands back
to his side, and slowly crept over the entrance door, which lied blown off
its hinges on the ground.

Outside, the city center showed surprisingly little sign of damage. Well, at
least its infrastructure. Most of the buildings remained upright, the only
ones completely collapsing being the lesser-maintained and smaller ones. On
the other hand, all their contents were scattered through the streets like
so much dust. Sheets of paper were scattered as far as the eye could see, as
well as household appliances, picture frames, and practically whatever else
could both fit out a window and be carried by the wind. Dozens, if not
hundreds of cars and trucks were wrapped around lampposts, sat upside down,
or virtually torn apart.

Magnus rubbed his head. "Oi. Well, it wasn't as bad as what I was expecting,
anyways. Nothing a couple hundred billion credits and a drafted clean-up
crew can't fix..." Magnus began wading down the sidewalk, the other
residents of the shelter (the hostages, and the Hindu owner of the
conveinience store, among people) sticking their heads out the door and the
store's shattered window to get a good look at the damages.

"Hey," the owner said in broken English. "Money need for service."

"Don't make me break more stuff than there already is," Magnus growled. With
a peep, the owner shrunk back into the building. "...this is absolutely
bizarre.. all the reports indicated that the storm would be lasting all
night and would be increasing in speed.. unless.. Ultimanium actually
figured out what was going down with the dragon-thing?.. Whoa..." Magnus
stumbled, grasping his forehead, wincing. "Giant doses of sugar might push a
power level up quite a bit, but they have bitchin' headaches..."



********



A short distance off from the shelter, the same two televisions sat
peacefully in the electronics store window, seemingly unharmed though all
the merchandise around it was either looted, ripped out by the wind, or
bought by escaping citizens. Though the former was the most common case. Two
newscasters sat onscreen, exchanging comments.

"Yes, sir, we seem to have a miracle on our hands. Who would've thought what
happened tonight would ever occur?"

"Sure thing. It's not every day you see a deity screaming at you."

"That's right. Though I'm pretty sure those that went to the El Trazos area
were given quite a shock when he started tossing them around like rag dolls.
Even the oil platform around El Trazos was destroyed in the initial
onslaught, and damages are reported in the $50 million range."

"Ouchies. However, it was that bunch of people flying around and pecking at
the thing that really gave me the creeps. It really looked like they were
actually doing damage to the thing, and when the giant lasers came out it
really looked like so. We have no witness accounts though, regrettably,
because, one, all the spectators were tossed into the next hemisphere by the
dragon, and two, the heroes that neutralized the threat were nowhere to be
seen after when the dragon virtually disappeared under the World State
Government's watchful eye."

"Oh, well. At least we have no more evac scares."

"Winds only managed to get within the 80 km/h range in New York's radius,
among other Atlantic rim cities, before they started to die down again. The
city hardest whupped with Mother Nature's ugly stick would have to be the
capitol of Magnopolis, nearest to the site of the disaster. Damages THERE
are in the tens of billions."

"Man, that's gotta suck. We'll bring you more updates on the Hurricane
Magnus recedement as time goes on. We now return you to your normal
programming."

















********






????
3:43 AM





Eric's eyes slowly began to slide open. As his vision began to focus, he
slowly shoved himself up, but stopped as a pain shot through his right arm.
Looking at it, he scowled to himself. His limb was entirely covered in
blood, apparently having been seeped before from giant scars that lined his
arm. A large piece of gauze was strapped across his elbow, cushioning it.
Eric shivered as a cold wind rushed across him.

"...where the hell are we...?" Eric sat himself up. He was lied down in what
remained of a large shed, missing three of its walls and a roof. A large
heap of crates lied uncerimoniously in a heap off in the distance. Eric
himself was lied down on a bed of boxes, covered with a burlap sack. The
dirt beneath him was a rich brown, soaked with moisture. Eric was in the
middle of a complete wasteland.

"Well, it's nice to see SOMEONE here's up."

Eric quickly swung around on his torso, seeing a tall man leaning on a stack
of ammo crates. "It's about time someone decided to wake. If you're looking
for your friends, they're all scattered around the island. I've already had
the chance to check everything out, don't worry, they're all safe. Well, the
one over there looks pretty beat up..." Dante glanced over, his eyes
dimming, to another tattered metal wall off in the distance.

Eric blinked, turning back ahead. "You mean..." Eric squinted as he peered
off into the distance. Indeed, the three Arwings were seated in the wet
dirt, the mud beginning to accumulate on the fighters' land pads. "...who
are you?"

Dante sighed. "Oh, I'm just one of those..." he air-quoted. "...spectators."

Elsewhere, Tron's arm shuddered as she slid it over an embankment, slowly
raising herself to her feet. "...anyONe eLse manAgE to Get tHe LicenSe
nUmBER?" she promptly collapsed.

Teisel sat up. "I liKe ChEEse." So did he.

Eric grasped his head, shaking. "I still don't understand... where are we?
What happened to Millenial?.."

Dante glanced up into the open thing. "...is that what you called that
thing? Hey, don't look at me, I just came to about half an hour before
everyone else did. I didn't see any more than you see now. Hell if I know
where he went."



********



Another uneventful half-hour passed, with various people finally coming to
their senses and conjoining at the ruins near the center of the island. The
Star Fox team and many of the Argetlahm crewmembers were seated around a
large bonfire, along with a dozen or so castaways from the spectator boats.

"..Millenial is gone..." Locke picked up a plank of wood with both hands,
stabbing the cinders with it. It had taken him a good twenty minutes to find
one probing instrument on the island that hadn't been completely soaked by
the storm. "...what could have happened..."

Ultimanium sat motionless in the center of the huddle. His current clothing,
a light blue dress shirt and jeans, were completely torn to shreds. "...I
couldn't know less."

Goten poked his head into the group, grinning. "Hey, I haven't heard one
person yet say anything about Millenial probably being defeated! I mean..."
everyone stared at him. "...that could be a case.. right?"

"Maybe.. maybe not..." Shaun grumbled. "But something about this entire
situation doesn't feel right.. like we majorly screwed up somehow..."

Raynor shrugged. "Who knows, maybe we did."

Vegeta shook his head. "No Ki for miles around."

"That's not necessarily always the case..." V2 mumbled. He had since
reverted to his Rookie form, both his physique and morale torn to ribbons by
Millenial's assault. "...you know."

Fox held up a pair of binoculars, looking over a nearby hill. "We got
refugees on both fronts."

"Who?" Cody asked.

"Some... weird red-coated guy's got Eric... and one of the castaways has
Rika... holy crap, looks she got whupped with Millenial's big stick pretty
hard.. they're turning.. meeting in the middle..."


********


Eric blinked, staring onwards at Rika's battered form. Like many other of
the physical fighters, her clothing was practically destroyed.

"...whoa! Rika... you.. whatever you took jumping in front of me, it looks
like it hurt!"

Rika struggled to shut her black eye. "Oh, shut UP already. Alright, let's
get one thing straight. Look at me, I'm practically dead. Which means if I
don't want you haunting me through my entire freaking afterlife which is
undoubtedly soon, you're going to have to date me at least once. Once, no
more, no... well, maybe less. Okay? Shut up, be quiet, this conversation is
OVER."

"...was that a yes?"

"YES, YOU F*CKING MORON!!"

Eric sweatdropped. "...oh, hey, no sweat. Heh... um... so... when?"

"I'll talk about it WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT!!" Rika continued screaming
obscenities to herself as she began to plod off, aided by the volunteer.

Dante winced. "...um... PMS incarnate?"

Renamon phased in. "Oh, don't worry, she's just going through one of tho.."

"RENAMON!! Do you ALWAYS have to be a punching bag?! Shut up and c'mon!!"

Renamon shook her head. "Ugh. Never mind."



********



Ultimanium tossed another scrap of wood on the fire. "I've got a mental link
going with Minonim. The Argetlahm's on its way back here. You know, I don't
know why Raul insisted it was so hard to get a mental link to Minonim going,
I mean..." Ultimanium paused as his silver hair flumped in front of his
face, dying out into a jet black. "...oh."

"...so.. um..." Gohan shivered. "...the Argetlahm's coming, and
Millenial's.. well... what's next on the plan?"

Everybody remained quiet.

Shaun looked up, his eyebrow raising. "You really think the guy bit it? I
don't know, I just got this feeling, that..."









"He isn't dead."





Falco poked his head over the crowd. "Who's there?"


Everybody suddenly backed away, as an armored figure limped over the hill.
Xaero's black armor was twisted, scraped, and damaged beyond repair. His
entire left leg was deplated, revealing a heavily bloodied and in some cases
boned leg. "...L-listen to me..."

"The Prospector!" everybody growled as the voice rose in the back of the
pack, raising up their weapons. Heero slid his handgun out of the holster,
holding it in front of him.

"...please.." Xaeros fell to one knee, supporting himself with one arm.
"please.. everybody, listen to me!"

Everybody looked at Ultimanium, who advanced to the front of the group. "Let
him talk. Prospector, was it you that was first battling Antimagnus?"

Xaeros struggled to keep his head up, purple lightning sparking from
openings in the armor. "..are.. are you Argetlahm?"

"Yes."

"It's... about time..." Xaeros mumbled. "you are those that defeated
Ultramagnus, correct?"

"Well, some affiliates." Shaun mumbled.

"You have to listen to me. This beast you fought.. this Trance... is far
from dead. He has always been far from death. And he is too powerful... he
is the ultimate Trance..."

"No shit, Sherlock." Eric growled.

"I see... Antimagnus has already had a word with you, Argetlahm. Please... I
ask of you.. listen to me... Antimagnus is far from done with all of you...
he has higher goals than just this planet alone.. if you wish to know
Antimagnus' true plans, then I am open for questions..."

"What's all the talk about the Van Elita?!" Shaun burst.

"Van Elita... Van Eltia... yes, I can see it in your eyes... you're
Inferian...Celestian? You share properties of both races... you're angered
about Antimagnus' plans with the Van Eltia? Then I suggest you do something
about it."

Shaun sat staring at Xaeros, slackjawed. Meanwhile, Serge slid in front of
him. "Alright, Prospector, you can defend yourself all you want, but the
truth is that you have terrorism accusations hanging over your head... so I
would suggest that you come with us."

Ultimanium waved Serge off. "Not yet. What's this Van Eltia?"

Xaeros shut one of his eyes. "I take it you aren't familiar with the legend
of old? About the Celestian flagship? Well, aren't YOU in the dark."

"Er, before we go any further..." Ultimanium interrupted. "...THIS is Gaia's
Isle?"

"Observant," Xaeros scoffed. "So?"

"...Millenial wasted the place.. so I was wondering... what happened to the
J?"

Xaeros turned suddenly, pivoting on his healthy leg. "Quit worrying about
the dimensionsplitter. I have it stored in the underground bunkers of this
island, where I keep all my backup computer systems. Anyways, that's about
all I have to say, if you want to hurl me in prison so fast..." Xaeros' eyes
glinted as they turned over to Shaun. "...but aren't there other things you
want to ask me?"




Shaun grunted, shoving other members out of the way as he charged to the
front of the crowd. "What the hell about the Van Eltia?! Quit babbling and
get on with it!"

Xaeros huffed, turning back to the side. "...it might sound like just a
feeble attempt to get on your good sides, but the truth is, I had nothing to
do with the Trances and their attacks on the Magnopolitian mainland... it
was all Servant, or Antimagnus', doing. He stepped in, and under my
distraction with other affairs virtually took over my operation, giving out
his own deeds to the Trances to attack the mainland. For what, I didn't know
until recently. He wanted to get revenge on Magnopolis and the Argetlahm for
the events nine years ago.

"I'll admit this much, I am certainly guilty of the J-terrorism scares I
placed on the World State Government, but that is all. My religion, the
Unity, is strictly focused on uniting the six dimensional figures of people,
forging a path into the Seventh Dimension for them. This was supposed to be
a pathway to Eden, the theoretical final step in human evolution... these
very figures would have limited control over reality itself, giving average
people high-SSJ powers.

"The Trance was never intended to be used as a weapon. Even if you were to
come and put a stop to me before Antimagnus arrived, I wouldn't be as stupid
as to put the Trances out to do the fighting. It was... demeaning to the
Unity! But Antimagnus has no care for feelings such as these.. he wanted
power, and that's what he's in the process of doing.

"He has fled the Earth, taking many of his highest-power level Trance
defects with him. Listen, everybody, especially YOU, Shaun. Antimagnus
intends to lead the charge straight to the glorious ship Van Eltia, where
the Craymel weakens the 7D barrier, and he intends to take control of the
ship and end the guerilla war of the space pirates there. Once he takes
control of the Van Eltia, the influence of the Trance will spread like
wildfire throughout all Creation, infecting and eventually corrupting the
greatest of minds. The third dimension's inability to contain this much life
force will eventually cause it to come together right at the epicentre, the
Van Eltia, and give birth to a Seventh Dimensional god... it is what
scientists have predicted for ages, coming together in the short period of
years.

"It is the Big Crunch. It means Creation will literally reset."

"Normally this amount of life force would take virtual eons to gather,
hundreds upon hundreds of billions of years to create. But Trance has very
much made Apocalypse a reality, Argetlahm. And as it stands, you are our
last hope. You must forge a path to the Van Eltia and stop Antimagnus before
his plans take root."









Everybody sweatdropped. Except for Shaun, who was outright seething at the
speech. His teeth grit, both fists clenched in front of him ready to tear
apart anything that got in his way. "...Antimagnus... taking control of the
Van Eltia! Reality is at stake... Chat.. Max.. and everyone else is at
stake!! We have to do something!!"

Takato smiled sheepishly. "Er, Shaun, calm down, we're going to get
everything back in or.."

"Everybody!! Do you have no IDEA how serious this is?! The Van Eltia... is
the ultimate Craymel weapon!! If anyone were able to gain control of it, or
otherwise manage to set it off... even WITHOUT Trances it could spell utter
destruction of the universe in the wrong hands!"

Xaeros' head fell. "I understand how sudden this is.. but you have to
believe me. If you wish, you can take whatever supplies you want out of the
underground bunkers. I don't expect to be let off easy, but I want to help
to defeat Antimagnus as well."


Ultimanium nodded. "Then come with us."










Everybody looked at him funny. "...HUH?!"

Xaeros blinked. "..what.. you insist.. I come with you?! No strings?!"

Serge tapped Ultimanium on the shoulder. "..um.. Ulty, I don't mean to be
invading your inuition, but are you sure we should take HIM along? I mean.."

"Serge.." Ultimanium closed his eyes. "You have to trust me on this one. The
Prospector... he is telling the truth. I don't know how... but I can feel
it. Our Trances are communicating... and I can feel what he is. Rage. Anger.
Discontempt. Humiliation. He is just... like us."








"...well, I can't stop you." Xaeros nodded. "I notice you managed to utilize
Trance. Now, don't interrupt me before I'm finished, but every Trance that
is performed, the dimensional structure weakens slightly. However, not even
all your Super Saiyans and your Digimon and big-sword-people can stand up to
Trances forever. Many of Antimagnus' personnel are the most powerful Trance
fighters in existance. As much as you may abhor it, I believe the only way
to beat a Trance is using a Trance. Which is why I am inviting you all into
my underground headquarters. There, I will be able to teach you EVERYTHING
that has been discovered... and, if you're up to it... possibly Trance
yourselves."

Charmy leapt over Cody, faceplanting him in the dirt. "Wow! You can trigger
stuff like that?!"

Xaeros scratched the back of his head. "...well, they just don't grow on
trees, you know. Now, if you want to know exactly how Trances tick, perhaps
you'd like to get out of this chill? The main entrance to the labyrinth is a
half-hour walk from here. Okay?"

Everybody looked at Ultimanium. "Don't worry about him pulling any shots..
all his defenses are gone, and we outnumber him. Everybody, please.. trust
the Prospector. We're going to head down and get the dirt we need."

Dante lifted his foot out of the mud. "I think we've got enough right here."



Soon, everybody reluctantly shuffled forward, behind Xaeros. As they
disappeared over a ridge, Tron and Teisel could be seen stealthily trailing
the group, ducking between buildings.





It was only the beginning of things to come.

















--------------

NEXT TIME, ON TRANCE TRAUMA...


Chapter 12: The Great Equalizer? The Push to Trance!








Xaeros peered over the ledge, looking down on a large wall of computers. In
the middle of the floor beneath him, a dark figure stood, its hair blowing
in an artifical breeze. It raised his arm, stroking it through the air ahead
of itself. It suddenly yelped, its vision darting around itself as the
machinery around it hummed to life with an eerie pulse of blue light.

Xaeros' eyes shrunk. "This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt
you."



*******



"I'm not exactly super-soldier status." Eric said flatly. He gestured over
to Shaun.

"Um, no." He pointed over to Takato.

"Let's not." He pointed over to Raynor.

"No pyrotechnics, thank you."

Ultimanium groaned. "Well, geez, SOMEONE'S gotta go in there and see what
the Prospector wanted."



********


Two figures clashed in the air, exchanging punches and kicks as the air
whistled around them. They suddenly backed off, charging again and meeting
with their hands locked, both attempting to push each other over.

Cody scratched his head. "Well, this is the most anti-climatic battle I've
seen since Argetlahm Adventures. How about you?" Cody paused, reaching over
to take a sip of coffee from a mug labeled 'I Jumped Dimensions As A
Mercenary and All I Got Was This Mug'.

Armadillomon shook his head, grinning. "Well, I'd DEFINATELY let this one
play out, for the hell of shock value." He reached over, drinking from
another mug labeled 'Digimon Tamer - Countersync is Coming'.