Chương 42: Episode 39: War Never Meant Done

The seven stood before the van as smoke drifted upward in slow spirals, flames reflecting across the ruined battlefield. Burned metal cracked. Embers floated through the air like dying stars. Around the cratered wasteland, Class 101 stood battle-worn and bloodied, surrounding Incarceration while Jaylen stared him dead in the eyes. Incarceration walked slowly across the blackened earth, boots grinding through ash, blood, and shattered stone. His head hung low.

Red light flickered violently across his ruined suit as his cannon pulsed with a soft mechanical hum, casting crimson across the battlefield. Everyone watched him. Waiting. Watching for the slightest movement. Watching for the moment he decided to kill them all. But Incarceration wasn't nervous. He was a Zenith. To him, destruction wasn't difficult. It was natural.

"You're going to deal with this every single day," Incarceration said calmly, his voice carrying through the wind while fists clenched and energy crackled around the battlefield.

"This is what your job is as Heroes." He slowly turned toward the group—the Chosen Ones, Starla, Eli, the entirety of Class 101. Then he sighed. Actually sighed. Spreading his arms wide, he scoffed, "Come on, everybody. Can't we be a little more rational?" His cannon glowed brighter.

"Killing the Chosen Ones is easy for me." He pointed directly at them.

"They're right there." Olsen tightened his grip on his hammer. Prince lowered into a runner's stance, lightning snapping around his body. Archie's skin ignited with blazing fire. Demaurion boiled the moisture in the air itself, pressure distorting around him in violent waves. Incarceration noticed Starla and Eli standing among them and chuckled under his breath.

"A Lost Celestianite princess… and a Nomanite." Then his eyes swept over the rest of Class 101.

"And the rest of you are just kids in costumes trying to play Hero." His voice hardened.

"This is serious." The battlefield trembled slightly beneath his feet.

"You're all on the verge of losing this world while I'm already taking over Celestia. There's no stopping me now."

"We can." Jaylen stepped forward. Dream energy spiraled around his fists in violet and silver currents as he stared directly into Incarceration's glowing eyes.

"If all of us jump you at once," Jaylen said steadily, "we can overpower you." He exhaled slowly.

"You're not invincible, Incarceration." The battlefield quieted.

"You're strong." His fists tightened.

"But you're not stronger than all of us." The Zenith blinked once. Then again. His cannon slowly began lifting toward Jaylen's head.

"So… I'm not strong to you?" The cannon's whirring intensified. This wasn't about disproving Jaylen's statement. It was about destroying their hope.

"Mentally," Incarceration whispered, "you're all weak." The cannon glowed brighter.

"I already proved it." BRRRRRRMMMMMM—"And all of you saw it." The crimson light intensified until the battlefield itself turned red. Several heroes instinctively stepped back. Jaylen didn't move. Dream energy crackled violently around him as he shut his eyes, waiting for the blast. SKRAAAAAASH!!! A jagged arc of blazing blue lightning tore across the battlefield. The wind detonated outward. The earth shook. Everyone's eyes widened as a blue streak ripped through reality itself— Power.

Moving so fast the world barely kept up with him. His eyes blazed azure. Energy exploded from both fists as his cape whipped violently behind him. He reeled his arm back.

"OVERPOWERED OVERHAND!!!" BAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!!! The impact detonated across the battlefield in a catastrophic blue shockwave. Mountains shattered instantly. The ground split open. Wind warped and screamed across the landscape as Incarceration was launched skyward, flipping uncontrollably while blood sprayed through the air behind him. He smashed through a mountain in an explosion of debris before crashing into the earth below. But Power was already above the clouds.

A blazing blue comet streaked across the heavens before diving back downward like a celestial missile. Energy spiraled around him in violent torrents as he spun through the air, weaving between thunderclouds.

"SERIOUS—" WARP—FLASH!

"—KICK!!!!!" BASHKKKKKKK!!!! The kick connected. Blue shockwaves erupted in every direction as the storm itself turned azure. Lightning lashed across the sky while power engulfed the battlefield whole. Power vanished. Incarceration staggered backward through the smoke, blood pouring from his nose as cracks spread across his cannon. FLASH! Power appeared directly in front of him. His fist curled back. A glowing blue dimensional fracture shattered open behind him.

"SPLIT—" IMPACT FRAME.

"REMINDER OF TRUTH!!!" BWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!! The punch slammed into Incarceration's face with enough force to fracture the air itself. A glowing red crack spread across the Zenith's eye.

"RRAAAAGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The battlefield exploded into blue light. Mountains collapsed. Gravity distorted. Entire slabs of earth ripped upward into the air as the storm lost control around them. WHOOSHHH!!! Incarceration shot skyward again— —but Power instantly appeared above him and drove him back down with another catastrophic smash that turned the sky white. The Zenith hit the ground hard enough to split the continent beneath them. Power descended with him. BOOOOOOM!!! The land shattered apart completely.

Molten lava glowed beneath the collapsing earth. Now both brothers floated above a fractured world. Power crossed his arms, glaring downward with glowing eyes filled with anger and disappointment. Across from him, Incarceration hovered silently over the lava-lit abyss. His armor was cracked. Blood dripped from his mouth. But his eyes remained sharp. Power stared directly at him.

"I can't even be shocked anymore." Blood spilled from Incarceration's nose into the burning air below. Then he looked at his brother.

"Power… we've already had this conversation." His voice lowered.

"This is what I want." The sky rumbled.

"I want Avangard to suffer." The lava beneath them bubbled violently.

"They think they're safe. Protected. Comfortable." His eyes glowed red.

"They need to learn the hard way."

"You don't have to do this," Power replied. The battlefield quieted. For the first time since the fight began… They sounded like brothers again.

"We're family," Power said quietly.

"And when it comes to genocide… corrupting the Power Gems… turning fear into hatred…" He shook his head.

"I understand fear exists. But this?" His cape drifted through the smoke-filled sky.

"This isn't justice." The connection between them became suffocatingly real. Pain. History. Regret. Power's voice softened.

"We were born to help people." His eyes locked onto Incarceration's.

"You want to psychologically destroy Avangard because you want the world to feel the pain you felt for years." The words hit harder than any punch.

"But that doesn't mean you have to become this." Silence.

"It's my fault you were treated this way," Power admitted. The wind slowed.

"But I won't help you destroy the world because of it." He took a slow breath. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"You need to figure this out yourself." Incarceration stared at him quietly. Power continued.

"We're Heroes." Blue light flickered around him.

"Zeniths aren't supposed to destroy people mentally. We're supposed to save them." The red glow around Incarceration's cannon dimmed slightly.

"And I understand if you want to be your own person," Power said.

"But it doesn't give you the right to spread pain to everyone else." A pause.

"You're not gonna punch me again over this?" The question sounded almost human. Power slowly shook his head.

"I'm not gonna punch you." Incarceration looked down at the lava beneath them. His eyes flickered. Red. Blue. Red. Blue. Then finally— Blue. Power froze. Those blue eyes. The eyes he hadn't seen in years. The eyes of his brother. Power snapped his fingers. BOOOOM! The shattered earth sealed shut beneath them as the lava disappeared and the land reformed. Power almost smiled through tears. And for the first time in forever— Incarceration smiled back. A real smile. Peaceful. Free. Power floated closer. Slowly.

Carefully. Then the two embraced. For one brief moment— The war stopped. Incarceration's eyes flickered red.

"… Fuck you." SHHHHKKKK!!! The cannon ignited point-blank. Power's eyes widened. BWAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMM!!!! A nightmare-red beam consumed him whole. The battlefield erupted into crimson devastation as Power was blasted downward through the earth, smashing into the land below inside a colossal dome of exploding red energy. The shockwave swallowed everything. Silence followed. Smoke slowly rose from the massive crater. High above it all, Incarceration floated motionless. No smile. No laughter. No satisfaction.

He simply stared down at Power's unconscious body far below. The wind passed quietly around him. FWSSSHHHH!!! A violet-and-silver blast ripped through the sky. Jaylen's Dream Blast slammed directly into Incarceration's side mid-air, detonating in a violent spiral of dream energy that twisted the clouds apart. Incarceration's eyes widened as the explosion hurled him sideways through the storm.

Jaylen hovered in the air below him, battered wings spread wide, blood running down his face while dream energy spiraled around both fists. His voice trembled with rage.

"You don't get to do that to him." The battlefield drowned in smoke. Crimson embers drifted through the air like dying stars while ruined towers collapsed in the distance, their remains swallowed by fire. The sky itself looked infected—dark clouds churning around streaks of unstable red lightning. And at the center of it all stood Incarceration. Unmoving. His cannon smoked softly at his side. The crater Power left behind still burned behind him, molten rock bubbling deep beneath the fractured earth.

For a moment, he stared at it in silence. No grin. No satisfaction. Just silence. Then his jaw tightened.

"…See?" he muttered quietly, almost to himself.

"This is why weakness has to die." His voice shook slightly at the end. Barely noticeable. But it was there. His glowing red eyes flickered downward toward the crater one final time before hardening again.

"You hesitate once," he said louder, turning toward the remaining heroes, "and the world tears you apart for it." The survivors glared at him through blood and exhaustion. Ella struggled to stand. Demaurion's scales steamed violently. Jaylen's wings twitched weakly behind him. Keyler wiped blood from his mouth while tightening the silver strings wrapped around his wrists. Incarceration slowly lifted his head.

"You all still think this ends with hope." Red energy pulsed through the cracks in his armor.

"But hope is what gets people killed." BOOOOOOM!!! He moved. A red explosion detonated outward as Incarceration shot through the battlefield like a missile. Ryan barely lifted his weapon before a crimson beam punched through the ground beneath him, launching him screaming through burning debris. Sophia unleashed a massive wave of sound— —but Incarceration caught it. The soundwave folded backward violently and exploded into her chest, sending her spiraling helplessly into the sky.

Angel opened three portals at once— WHAM!!! Incarceration backhanded him straight through his own gateway. Emely rushed from behind with frozen fists— CRACK!!! His metal fist smashed across her face hard enough to spin her sideways through shattered stone. Fedjina lunged— —but the cannon swung once. BAAAAM!!! She vanished into smoke and rubble. The battlefield collapsed into panic again. William roared and charged forward through the flames. Incarceration turned toward him lazily. Almost annoyed.

The cannon reshaped instantly— SHHHKKKKK!!! —and unleashed a gigantic red blast. The explosion swallowed half the battlefield whole. The earth trembled. Wind screamed outward in all directions. William disappeared into the detonation. Metal boots scraped against broken stone as Incarceration marched forward through the firestorm. Then his hand shot out— GRAB! Olsen choked as Incarceration seized him by the collar and slammed him into the ground with catastrophic force. BOOOOM!!! Shockwaves burst outward.

Olsen coughed blood violently as cracks spread beneath his body. Incarceration's cannon reformed into an enormous artillery weapon above him, glowing brighter and brighter as it aimed downward.

"You people keep surviving things you shouldn't," Incarceration muttered coldly.

"It's becoming irritating." The cannon hummed. SNAP! Silver strings whipped across the battlefield and wrapped around the cannon instantly. Keyler planted both feet into the ground, veins bulging in his arms as he yanked backward with everything he had.

"You're not firing that thing," he growled. The cannon trembled against the bindings. Olsen wheezed from the dirt, blood pouring from his mouth as he looked toward Keyler. Then he threw his hammer.

"CATCH IT!" The weapon spun violently through the air— —and transformed mid-flight. Metal folded outward into a gigantic jagged axe pulsing with glowing veins of energy. Keyler caught it one-handed. A grin flashed across his face.

"Now THAT'S what I'm talking about—" He swung. The axe hurtled toward Incarceration like a missile. But Incarceration caught it instantly. Silence. His glowing eyes lowered toward the weapon. Then toward Olsen. And for the first time since the fight began— He looked tired. Not physically. Emotionally. Like every act of violence was digging him deeper into something he couldn't crawl out of anymore. Then he moved anyway. SHKKK!!! The axe spun in his grip— —and he buried it directly into Olsen's chest. CRAAAAACK!!!

Blood exploded from Olsen's mouth. The battlefield froze. Olsen collapsed backward with the axe lodged deep in his torso, twitching weakly as smoke curled around him. Ella screamed his name. Keyler's eyes widened in horror. And Incarceration… Just stared at Olsen breathing on the ground. Like he hated that he did it. But couldn't stop himself anymore. Then his metal boot slowly pressed down onto Olsen's chest, grinding him deeper into the shattered earth. Above them, war consumed the sky.

Celestianites fell from the heavens like burning stars, wings ripped apart as radiant blood scattered across the clouds. Lunaranites tore through the air firing crescent-shaped blasts that split through smoke and ash. Everywhere— Heroes were down. Broken. Bleeding. Failing. Only Jaylen still remained standing. Barely. He knelt in the middle of the battlefield, blood dripping from his fingertips while his damaged wings twitched behind him. Yet his eyes still burned with defiance.

Incarceration stared at him silently. SHHHKKKK!!! The cannon reformed into a massive crimson blade taller than Jaylen himself. Its edge glowed like liquid hatred. Around them, Ella, Demaurion, Keyler, and the others struggled helplessly across the destroyed battlefield. Incarceration slowly approached Jaylen. The blade dragged behind him, screaming against the earth.

"You know," he said quietly, "you actually remind me of us." Jaylen looked up weakly. Incarceration's expression darkened.

"That's why you have to die before the world ruins you too." He knelt in front of him.

"You were brave," he admitted softly. A pause.

"Strong, too." Olsen coughed violently from the dirt.

"N-No…" Incarceration ignored him. Then he slowly rose and lifted the sword overhead.

"I ANNOUNCE THIS PUNISHMENT—" His voice thundered across the battlefield like a god's judgment.

"—WILL BE FATAL!" Red lightning exploded across the clouds.

"And HE…" His glowing eyes locked onto Jaylen.

"…will die for the good of this world." Ella clawed across the dirt desperately.

"DON'T KILL HIM!" Jaylen's battered wings trembled weakly. Blood dripped from his chin. But somehow— He smiled.

"If I die…" He coughed.

"…then at least it meant something." The words hit the battlefield like a funeral bell. Even Incarceration hesitated. Just for a second. Then his face hardened again.

"Goodbye, Jaylen the Celestianite." Demaurion roared and clawed toward him through the rubble.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!!!" Incarceration brought the sword down. SHWIIIIING!!! Time slowed. Everyone froze. The blade descended toward Jaylen's skull— —and stopped. The battlefield went silent. A hand tightened around the blade. Actually stopping it. Celestial lightning exploded outward across the battlefield. KRAAAAKKKKK!!! Wind erupted in every direction. Keyler slowly lifted his head from the dirt. And standing over Jaylen— Was Don. Head lowered.

One hand gripping the massive crimson blade hard enough to crack it apart. Violet horns glowed through the smoke. His wings stretched outward like divine shadows against the burning sky. His tail swayed slowly behind him. And celestial energy crackled around his body in violent arcs of purple lightning. The battlefield itself reacted to his presence. Fallen Celestianites shimmered faintly. The air trembled. Even the Fake Lunaranites stopped moving. Incarceration stared at him. Actually stared.

The Zenith finally looked afraid. —"I've been waiting for this, Incarceration," I whispered as I slowly looked up at him—eyes crackling with celestial energy.

"For this one moment… where I get to fight back again." Incarceration's eyes of nightmare fuel settled on my daggers as he scoffed.

"And you really have what it takes to beat me?" The wind bellowed as everybody stared at the two of us in the center. Jaylen unhurriedly crawled back, letting me deal with the situation. SSHIWNG! My dagger carved across his chest. Incarceration staggered backward, his boots scraping across the battlefield. Breathing heavily, I lifted myself up, letting the cosmic light rest along my shoulders.

"Incarceration…" The air held its breath. Gales whipped my hood behind me.

"…let's get this over with." I bent one knee. My cosmic eyes illuminated.

"50…" Energy shimmered in my hand with excitement, but I powered it down.

"…percent." Like a lamp, my body lit up in a neon cosmic aura. Contours of violet energy throbbed calmly around my frame. There were no shockwaves or violent winds. It was just a silent transformation. Everybody around me gaped in wonder and relief, the violet glow dappling across their bodies as I gradually straightened. I balled my fists, stepped toward Incarceration, and pointed a finger at the ground.

"High-End… transformation." My light rippled. Incarceration giggled, "Chosen One… where was the Scourge Don I knew…?"

"There's no Scourge Don anymore." Cosmic energy dragged across the ground as I traced a line with my finger. I lifted it, and the celestial current swirled around it.

"The veil of evil that you forced me into… I left it for the greater good." He spat blood onto the battlefield, his grin beginning to twitch.

"I see… you've changed." The light around my finger condensed into a final sphere of violet energy.

"That's not the only thing about me that has changed…" It calmly spun like a rotating planet.

"It's what I've learned about you." I flicked the sphere toward him. It burst into sprays of neon purple. I warped. He loaded his cannon as crimson energy brightened. FWIPFWIPFWIPFWIPFWIPFWIP! Violet darts blinked back and forth around him. I skidded across the dirt. I launched. Dust exploded beneath my feet. I spun, my leg whipping around. He turned— BASHK! The impact blasted him across the sky as he tore through a mountain miles away. I dropped into my stance. Energy bent and glitched.

The wind pulled itself back. BOOM! The camera lost my frame, catching only a curved trail of cosmic light stretching across the land. From below, my legs felt quick and unnatural. The background blurred into smears as I inhaled and exhaled while sprinting. A close-up of my eyes reflected the sky. Energy twisted as I warped into the air, clouds jetting past me in milliseconds. A red disk of light hurled toward my back, forcing me to blast my body aside. A punch slammed into my back.

The impact echoed across the sky as my body became a tiny comet, smashing through a building. I slid across the glossy floor, surrounded by shattered glass and twisted golden metal. A crimson portal opened in front of me. Black claws slammed against the glossy floor as Incarceration gradually rose from the portal before snapping it shut with a simple flick. He landed. The building rumbled. I rose from the cracked floor as dust rushed through the massive hole behind him. The bones in my back felt tighter than ever.

That punch really did something. I anchored myself, letting the energy settle. Incarceration's footsteps clicked across the shining floor.

"I've also learned a lot about you too, child." He raised his chin as rays of crimson light beamed from his eyes.

"You were so useful…" My fists trembled. My eyes narrowed into a glare. My stomach twisted. My head had never felt heavier.

"To you…" I was already at his flank, arms spread, one foot planted while the other trailed behind. I shot my leg upward, smashing his jaw hard enough for blood to burst from his nose in slow motion. I slammed my leg down, twisted into a punch, planted my foot, then launched forward, showering him with a flurry of cosmic strikes to his flank. A split-second later— His claw caught my fist. He lifted me off the floor, spun, and hurled me across the building with a grunt. BISHK!

My body tore through exploding metal and glass, crashing through two buildings. Midair above the city, I caught myself and shot into the sky. I ascended over the building, front-flipped downward, and skimmed the rooftop while staying low. I whispered,"30%…" A noise sounded behind me. I whirled with a glimmer.

"BACKHAND OF FORCE!" My arm smeared through the air and smashed across a beast's head, unleashing an explosive air blast. My eyes widened as its head fell in slow motion.

"No way… he—" His fist buried deep into my ribs. RRRRRRRRIP! He dragged me upward before slamming his fist into my jaw. I staggered. He rushed toward me, slashing with his sword. I caught the blade with one of my dagger arms, quivering as I slowly looked up at him. SWHING! I yanked the sword away, flickered beside him, and slammed my fist into his face. I twisted, put my daggers back, and launched toward him again—tackling him straight through the clouds. We ripped through the air. He looked down at me, grinning.

I looked back, glaring. I spun and threw him across the clouds. He slowly floated backward, crossing his arms as he stared at me.

"This is your final fight against me, kid… please—show me all you've got."

"Don't worry…" I said.

"I won't bore you." A shockwave roared behind me as I blasted forward with both fists outstretched. BOOOM! Incarceration caught both of them. The shockwave exploded outward, shaking the entire area. He smirked, crimson flashing through his eyes as he tightened his grip around my fists.

"You're so much stronger, where's your base form?"

"That one gives me nostalgia." He lifted me over his shoulders before hurling me toward the ground. My body became a dart of light. BOOOOM! I slammed into the earth with extraordinary force, sending a violent blast of wind racing across the battlefield. I looked up. My eyes widened. A crimson bolt crashed into me like lightning. Impact frame. The battlefield vanished into black and white as devastation erupted around me. Feet buried themselves into my gut. The dust settled. His cannon began charging.

"Alright… time to end this." He raised it and aimed straight at me. FWISH! I flashed away. My feet hit the ground behind him. I dashed forward in a streak of light, fist blurring as violet energy blazed around it. He spun. BOOM! My fist collided with his face, unleashing a devastating shockwave that ripped across the entire region. He launched over the battlefield. I chased him. A left hook. A right hook. Another. Then another. Each punch came faster than the last.

I screamed, roaring into the sky as we tore across the battlefield. The world blurred around us while my fists became flickering streaks, hammering Incarceration's face in relentless barrages as we blitzed through the air. His hand suddenly shot out. He caught my arm. Lifted it. Smirked. One crimson eye flashed. His fist ignited. BAMMMMMMMM!!! It buried itself in my gut. The shockwave exploded through my body, launching me into the sky.

I flipped helplessly before crashing through a mountain and slamming into the ground. I rolled. Bounced. Crashing through mountain after mountain. Incarceration flashed behind me. He caught me by the head. Slowly lifted me into the air. He leaned close and whispered into my ear,"It really is the end of an era… am I wrong?" A malicious chuckle followed. FWISH! I blinked away, driving my feet against the side of a mountain. My energy finally surged, knowing this was the moment.

"Your time of bringing terror to Celestia," I shouted over the roaring wind, "IT'S OVER!!" He chuckled darkly. Then it grew louder. And louder. And louder. He laughed like a madman. In an instant, he aimed his cannon at me, grinning.

"That's… that's really cute. But for Incarceration… insanity never has a good ending." Wind vacuumed into his cannon as the battlefield trembled. His grin widened. The vortex spun faster. The shaking became violent.

"No wonder you left the Zeniths!" I yelled.

"YOU NEVER BELONGED!"

"AND SO—DID—YOU!" Nightmarish energy flooded his cannon as the pull clawed through the air, roaring against my ears.

"WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT YOU WERE A PART OF YOUR TEAM?!" His eyes flickered between red and blue while the storm raged around him. I noticed it. He still cares. A hurricane consumed the battlefield while a towering tornado spiraled around him. I dug my feet deeper into the mountain.

"I FACED SOMETHING NORMAL!"

"I FACED SOMETHING THAT'S A PART OF LIFE!"

"HUMILIATION!"

"IT CAN'T BE ERASED, YEAH!"

"BUT IT HELPS YOU GROW AS A PERSON!"

"AND YET YOU TWISTED IT INTO SOMETHING ROTTEN JUST SO YOU COULD FEEL SUPERIOR!" His eyes turned blue. For five seconds… His power softened. Then he snapped back.

"NO!" The blue shattered into a brighter crimson. The storm became even more violent. I crossed my arms. My eyes narrowed as the outline of my body burned brighter.

"One hundred percent…" Energy danced wildly around me. BOOMTH! I launched into the sky, detonating the mountain behind me. Wind screamed past as I dissolved into celestial energy, diving straight toward Incarceration. I became a rolling sphere of divine light.

"Violet…" Electrical cosmic energy wrapped around my body. Time stretched. Every ounce of power coiled into my leg.

"VIOLENCE!!!" The sky split apart. Incarceration unleashed an enormous scarlet beam. The blast rippled the air, shook the earth, and swallowed the storm. Mid-roll— I blinked straight toward him. Time slowed. His eyes widened. My white-violet leg curved toward him.

"No…" BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! White-violet light erupted outward in a cataclysmic shockwave that raced across the Enchanted Kingdom. The city disappeared beneath the expanding light, spreading faster than the eye could follow.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Incarceration's scream echoed through the blinding radiance. The eruption continued to spread until— With a single snap… Everything fell silent. I stood upright, celestial energy crackling around my High-End form. Slowly, I looked down. Incarceration lay motionless on the battlefield. His head was rolling next to him. Splattered blood stuck over the ground and beneath his neck. The fight was over. My expression never changed. I whispered to myself,"Happens to everyone…"

I turned away, snapped my fingers, and teleported back to the crew.