Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Marethyu, Priapus, Beans, Old man of the mountain, Mike God of Lore
The Celestial Conquest
Chapter 03: Fall of an Empire, Rise of a Kingdom.
– Max Anders (Kaiser) –
He had made a foolish mistake.
Cape culture was governed by a set of rules, even if you were villains. Sure, they were rules that he often ignored if he could get away with it, but they were rules all the same. Things also tended to move slowly, and after the slaughter the Empire had faced, he'd expected that Pharaoh would retreat for a while.
Pharaoh had not.
Looking down at his chest, he coughed up a mouthful of blood as the oh-so-familiar projection of Crusader stared at him with malicious glee.
"Die for our king," Justin's voice rasped, several spectral blades sticking into him from several angles. Kaiser failed to respond, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He hadn't expected to be attacked at Medhall, he hadn't expected Pharaoh to send his own Cape to kill him.
That was a statement he had been using a lot lately. 'He hadn't expected'.
His power was useless against Crusader's ghosts, and Max died in his office without even being given the honour of being able to fight back. Pharaoh had spat on the very nature of Cape culture, and as Max died, he at least took some minor joy in the fact that Pharaoh wouldn't last much longer. Heroes and villains alike would ally to end the threat he posed to the world of Capes.
– Ophelia Herren (Othala) –
"V-Victor?" Ophelia asked, horrified as she looked upon her husband. She'd seen him die, and his very body looked desiccated as he smirked. "W-what did Pharaoh do to you?"
"He did to me what he will do to all capes, Ophelia," Victor replied, his voice dark and raspy. "He sent me to bring you before him."
She looked at her guards, the loyal Empire foot-soldiers that Victor had slaughtered with the greatest of ease. She looked back at him, at the look in his seemingly glowing eyes, and she whimpered.
"W-we can run, the Empire won't be able to chase us, and Pharaoh will be busy with the heroes and other gangs," Ophelia tried, and instantly she knew she had made the wrong choice as his expression went from prideful to wrathful.
"You will serve, Ophelia. If I have to kill you first and deliver your corpse to my King, so be it," Victor said, pulling out his dagger as she froze.
"W-wait! I'll go willingly!" Ophelia promised, watching him hesitate before he nodded and shouted something in… Egyptian? Skeletal men entered the room, armoured in ancient armour and wielding weapons out of some fantasy novel.
"Take her to our King!" Victor commanded, and the men obeyed as they led her out into the street and put her onto a chariot. She looked upon the territory that the Empire 'protected' with fearful eyes. Pharaoh had just landed his Black Pyramid right in the center and unleashed his forces, and the Empire had been caught entirely off-guard, still licking their wounds from his earlier attack.
She briefly considered running, but two large skeletons wielding curved blades stood beside her on the chariot, and she knew they'd cut her down in an instant. She was forced to watch the chaos in the streets as she was led toward the pyramid.
Her eyes caught the sight of a large sandstorm raging through their territory, the sands moving at such speeds that they were removing flesh from bone. She knew she was watching the death of the Empire Eighty-Eight.
The skeletons leading her into the Pyramid pushed her into what was undoubtedly a throne room, where she spotted a familiar figure. Wearing thin straps of black silk that barely covered her teenage breasts, a loincloth and golden chains, Rune stood by the empty throne.
"You're… still alive?" Ophelia asked, making Tammi nod.
"King Darius has use for living slaves," Tammi agreed in a dark tone. "Do what he says, without argument. He's already killed Kaiser. The Empire is done. If you so much as argue once, he'll kill you and raise you as one of his undead slaves."
Tammi's tone brooked no argument, and Ophelia felt herself despair. What had the Empire done to deserve this?
"King?" Ophelia asked, making Tammi snort.
"Always call him by his title. King or Pharaoh. If he thinks you're disrespecting him… do you see that coffin?" Tammi asked, nodding to an ornate golden sarcophagus. "Go closer to it."
Ophelia hesitated, moving closer to the sealed golden coffin. She froze as she heard something coming from it. The coffin was sealed, muffling the noise, but she knew what she heard. Screaming.
"He couldn't find a way to kill Alabaster that would stick, and Alabaster insulted him," Tammi explained, dread clear in her voice. "So he improvised. It's filled with flesh-eating scarabs. Alabaster is an eternal source of meat for the creatures. I'm sorry, Ophelia, but you will serve him. In life or in death. All we can do is play along and hope to still be alive when the Triumvirate or whoever else takes Pharoah down."
The sarcophagus seemed to almost shake as the muffled screaming continued, and Ophelia felt her heart plummet.
"You gave him information, didn't you?" Ophelia accused, but Tammi just snorted.
"He has Victor and Krieg as his willing slaves. I barely knew anything about gang operations, but they knew every stronghold, every stash. You think he needed my knowledge when your dearly departed husband is spilling every secret to his new master?" Tammi asked sarcastically. "But he's going to ask us about the Clans, you know that. I'm going to spill everything I know because if I don't do it willingly, my corpse will do it instead."
Ophelia went silent, and the situation they were in hit her hard.
"When he comes back, kneel. I don't care how angry you are, how much it hurts your pride, kneel," Rune said, making her look at her friend. "Because Darius hates capes. I think he is keeping me alive because it just pleases his ego to have a cape willingly serving him. If you defy him, you will die in agony and then be raised to serve as his slave anyway."
"...did we make him trigger?" Ophelia asked, standing at the bottom of the steps leading up to the throne.
"I don't know. He's definitely a minority, but he's old. He asked me a lot of questions about Allfather. He triggered over a decade ago and has been sleeping in this tomb ever since, I think," Tammi admitted, making Ophelia frown.
All this was happening because of something that had happened years before she even triggered? This wasn't fair…
– Kayden Anders (Purity) –
"Let her go!" Kayden demanded, watching the undead monsters holding her daughter as one of them stepped forward.
"I think not," the almost silky tones of someone she thought long dead replied, the skeleton staring at her. It was more elaborately-armoured than the others, and as dozens of swords hung in the air around her, she knew exactly who she was looking at.
"That's your granddaughter, Richard. Please, I'll leave the city. I don't want anything to do with Pharaoh or his war," Kayden pleaded, making Allfather's skeleton seemingly smile. It was an unnatural look, the bleached skeleton warping slightly.
"She is, which is why I do not wish to harm her, but you remain a threat, Purity. Our King will not permit it. You will submit yourself to the Black Pyramid for judgment, Kayden Anders. Do so, and Aster will be spared," Allfather replied ruthlessly. Her power was too destructive. She couldn't hope to use it on the undead when they had her daughter.
Kayden glared at her father-in-law, but his empty eye sockets stared back unflinchingly. Several of the blades shifted and aimed toward the crying baby, and she felt the fight leave her.
"Kaiser won't-"
"My failure of a son is already dead," Allfather cut in with blunt, uncaring words. "As is my grandson. Aster is all that remains of my lineage. Obey, and she will live on. Refuse, and my line will die with her and you beside it."
"I- you win," Kayden admitted, watching as he gestured to the chariot waiting for her. She turned, ready to go and meet the scourge of the Empire in person. With her back turned to Allfather, she missed the gesture he made and suspected nothing until the blades pierced her back, making her gasp as one stabbed straight into her heart.
"My apologies, Kayden. But someone of your level of power cannot be permitted to live, and I could not risk you fighting and endangering our Tomb Princess," Allfather's voice said calmly as she coughed up blood, pinned to the floor by a dozen swords.
As she died, she watched Allfather mount his chariot with Aster in his arms, the skeletal horses moving as they took him toward the Pyramid.
– Melody Jurist (Cricket) –
For all her pride as a warrior, she knew she was on the weaker side of things. She was a good fighter, but her power did not make her a true powerhouse like Brad.
Choking, she looked up at the heartless eyes of Krieg as the undead cape watched her suffocate. Her sonar was useless; her reflexes couldn't save her, and Krieg said nothing as he watched her fight to remain conscious. With Krieg's power at work, she could barely fight off the skeletons as they attacked, blades cutting into her body mercilessly.
"Kneel, Cricket. You will serve our King, but you need not die first," Krieg said, his usual exaggerated German accent missing.
Cricket let out a shout, rushing him with her kamas. She was a warrior, she wasn't going to bend the knee to some freak and his undead monsters.
She knew she wasn't going to be able to do anything, but to her surprise, both kamas cut into Krieg's unmoving form, and she realised her mistake. He grabbed her, holding her in place as he let her stab his undead form, the other skeletons rushing her as they pierced her body multiple times.
"So be it," Kreig said uncaringly, his undead arms crushing her spine with ruthless ease. "It makes no difference in the end."
– King Darius –
Hookwolf rages, but how does one fight a sandstorm? How do you rage against a natural disaster? Flail, dog, and die knowing you are my inferior.
With the Cloak of the Dunes, I tear apart his men as he futilely attacks the air around him. His attacks are useless as I become the very wind and sand, ripping him apart. Inside my storm, Night fulfils her duty of tearing her former ally to pieces. She needs to be hidden to transform, and any damage she sustains is removed once she transforms back, making it a good combination.
The Empire was wounded from my summoning, but why would I sit back and let them catch their breath? Djedra's Incantation of Summoning saw those who died in the Night of Ghosts rise again, and now all the Empire will serve me, the one true King of Brockton Bay.
Hookwolf tries to run, but there is nowhere he can go that isn't part of my sandstorm, nowhere he can cower that Night won't find him. Hookwolf is seen as the Empire's most dangerous weapon, the raging attack dog that Kaiser foolishly let out of his sight. He had Hookwolf patrol his borders and expected me not to pick off the isolated hound.
But then, Kaiser also unmasked and expected me not to attack him just because he wasn't wearing his cape outfit. This is war, and there will be no quarter. All Kaiser could have done was bend the knee and submit. It was his only option for survival, and he made the wrong choice.
Night rips out Hookwolf's heart, his core, with an utter lack of care for her own shredded body, and I smile as I end the Sandstorm and reform beside the corpse. The monster is gone, replaced with a blank-faced blonde woman as Night kneels before me.
"Take his corpse to the others," I command, mounting my chariot. [Ironclaw Cunning] tells me that it is time to go. I can take on the Empire, but I cannot fight the entire PRT yet, and they are going to respond to my attack soon.
This is guerrilla warfare: strike fast, strike hard, and be gone before the PRT can free itself of its red tape to respond. As my forces return to the Pyramid, I mentally command for it to take off once more. [Stop Time] has been essential for my plans. I can freeze everything except my Pyramid to reposition myself wherever we are needed, then use the same trick to escape.
From the outside, they no doubt believe that my Pyramid is simply teleporting, not understanding my true power.
Returning to my throne, I look upon my gathered followers with a triumphant smile as Ophelia and Tammi kneel. Every king needs his slave girls. Menja tosses her sister's body into one of the prepared sarcophagi, ready to be raised to serve alongside her.
"The Empire Eighty-Eight is dead. In a day, I have succeeded where heroes and villains alike failed," I say, my skeletons banging their khepesh against their shields in rhythm.
The only survivor from their roster is Fog, who seems to have fled. No doubt he will run back to the Gesellschaft, but his warning will not save them. Stormtiger was assassinated by Victor and will later be brought back to serve in my army, as will all the dead capes.
"Your victory will not go unnoticed, My King," Krieg warns. "The 'heroes' will seek to end your rule before it can begin. Already, they have called a Kill Order upon you."
"They cannot kill that which is already dead," I scoff. "But you are correct. These sanctimonious fools dare to call me a villain for doing what they could not. They are no longer welcome in my Kingdom. Today, we shall drive the PRT out of Brockton Bay."
My soldiers let out a cheer, their lingering hatred of the heroes intermingling with their new loyalty to their Tomb King. Much like the Empire, the PRT wrongly believe that I will be passive as they gather their forces for a true invasion of my Tomb.
I will not.
The undead require no sleep, no rest. We will wage war every second of every day until all have fallen before us.
100cp granted. 150cp total.
Feats Achieved: Kill Kaiser (200cp), Kill Stormtiger (100cp), Kill Purity (200cp), Kill Menja (100cp), Kill Cricket (100cp), Enslave Ophelia (100cp), Kill Hookwolf (200cp), Destroy the Empire Eighty-Eight in a single day (300cp). 1300cp granted. 1450cp total.
The Empire's destruction will fuel my ambition. Their capes are mine, and the feats I gained by crushing them will ensure that I have the power needed to conquer all.
[Magical Warding - Boosted (High-Tier)] 200cp, 1250cp remaining.
For 600TP, your tomb could survive a titan flinging a great pyramid into it, explosives that could pulverise entire castles or the blows from the strongest of artefacts, though that last one may batter through after days of effort. The warding runes are such that even Nagash himself with his Black Pyramid would not be able to penetrate the tomb with magic, not without exhausting every shred of power within that fell creation.
Ah, as it should be. My very tomb shudders with power as the warding runes are improved, ready to drive off any assault.
[High Priest of Nehekhara] - 600cp, 650cp remaining.
The lofty heights of the High Priesthood are now yours to join. You have become a Liche High Priest, the most powerful and knowledgeable of all of the priesthood of death. Your powers with the magic of life and death, particularly those unique to this land, such as the Lore of Nehekhara, have grown to staggering levels of might. You have a knowledge of the rituals, ceremonies, and traditions of Nehekhara that is unmatched by any save Khatep himself. You could have unsealed the greatest of tombs and performed the rituals to summon Settra and his great army alone if you were awake at the time. And if you had done so, summoned the dead yourself, your will would stay with them regardless of your presence. The undead you create or raise do not require the presence of a priest to maintain themselves or energy to continue functioning, though you may still forcefully dismiss your own creations.
In an instant, the knowledge of centuries of study and practice floods my mind. My skills with the Lore of Nehekhara that seemed so impressive moments ago are suddenly amateurish, and with a gesture of my golden staff, each of the bodies brought before me rises, their minds slaved to my will.
[Warded Titan] - 400cp, 250cp remaining.
The bones that make up your body were individually inscribed with powerful runes and symbols to ward off magic, evil and corruption. Your body is a gigantic bastion of defence. Only the strongest of wizards could get past your defences, only a powerful Daemon could corrupt you past your purity wards, and even the vile powers of the more unclean forms of undead would fail to find purchase on your body, so long as the wards hold out against them. These protections even extend to whatever you are touching, the runes scrawling over to protect allies or weapons in contact with you, though they can only stretch so far.
My power rewards my efforts as my body grows increasingly tough. Excellent. I shall live eternal, just as my empire will.
[Mirage Machine] - 200cp, 50cp remaining.
Your tomb contains a room with a device capable of bending light and wind to form mirages. These mirages will be effective until the victim is only a dozen or two metres away from the tomb itself, allowing the tomb incredible stealth in the dunes. You may control what mirage is projected through the device, and the size of your tomb will determine the size of the mirage.
Instantly, I have the tomb vanish from the sight of the mortals, a grim smile on my face as I plan my next move.
The PRT is planning my demise, even though it was them who intruded in my tomb to begin with. This will not stand, nor will I permit them to gather strength and prepare for an invasion of my tomb.
Two of my new prizes give me an idea. My tomb can withstand almost anything and is hidden from view. Combining the two gives me an idea.
With a gesture, the Pyramid begins to move. The PRT should have taken my warning. I told them to abandon Brockton Bay, and they didn't listen.
They remained within my land, and now they will pay the price.
– Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) – Later –
When she accepted Panacea's demand for a Kill Order to be signed, she honestly hadn't planned to fulfil it. Nilbog had a kill order, and it had remained unfulfilled for years. She planned to treat Pharaoh the same way, giving up Brockton Bay to the powerful villain to keep him around for the true fight.
She had believed that Pharaoh would not even hear about the Kill Order, hiding away in his pyramid. How could he? It wasn't like he had the internet up there.
His tomb had skulls attached to the outside that screeched at all hours, their voice reaching unnaturally far, and it was those skulls that informed them how wrong she was. She watched on the screen at the recording of the pyramid as they shrieked about this being the price for their kill order. The skulls shrieked of King Darius and his might, telling all who listened of his great victories and the cowardice of the PRT. They shrieked that the Great King Darius had graciously given the PRT a chance to leave the city and they had refused.
Where once the Rig had stood, a proud symbol of the PRT's might, the Black Pyramid hovered menacingly. His ability to turn the tomb invisible had come as a surprise, but within minutes of him turning it invisible, he had done something nobody had even considered.
He'd rammed the massive pyramid into the Rig at full speed as an undead Purity bombarded them with blasts. There had been only seconds to react from the pyramid reappearing before it had collided with the Rig, and all those who'd tried to flee in either boats or by the bridge were attacked by Purity, Stormtiger, and several other Empire capes.
The attack, if this slaughter could be called such a thing, had lasted a matter of minutes.
"This is Chief Director Costa-Brown to any surviving PRT personnel. Retreat from Brockton Bay. I repeat, fall back from Brockton Bay," Rebecca said, her heart heavy as she gave the order. Dragon's mechs moved forward, placing a new wall around the city to prevent anyone from leaving.
America had just gained a new containment zone. They had little way to stop the Pyramid from moving around, as Legend himself had tested it during the attack, firing his strongest blasts at the Pyramid to no avail, but the PRT was surrendering Brockton Bay to King Darius in the hopes that it would keep him contained.
Contessa had been the one to tell her to do this. They'd even timed it so that they'd trap the newly-arrived Teeth inside the city before they put up the quarantine zone. Darius was horrifically powerful, but that was exactly what she needed.
Scion was on course to kill trillions. If giving Darius the entirety of Earth Bet would raise their odds of victory by even a fraction of a percent, it was something they were willing to do.
She watched the live footage from Dragon's drones, seeing Darius send out his forces into Brockton Bay itself. His armies only seemed to be growing, and the city wouldn't contain him for long as they put up golden banners and slaughtered all those who wore gang colours. Merchants and ABB thugs were slaughtered by the undead, rising again in short order to join the cleansing.
Sitting back in her chair, she frowned deeply as she prepared for the press conference. This was the correct decision to best prepare for Scion, but she couldn't help but hate it anyway.
– King Darius –
Feats Achieved: Kill Emily Piggot (50cp), Kill Assault (100cp), Kill Battery (100cp), Kill Velocity (100cp), Kill Armsmaster (100cp), Kill Dauntless (100cp), Kill Triumph (100cp), Kill Miss Militia (100cp), Conquer Brockton Bay (300cp). 1050cp granted. 1100cp total.
My actions had caused an all-hands-on-deck meeting within the Rig. Fools, did they truly believe their pathetic little metal box was safe? All they did was ensure that I had an easy way to wipe the slate clean, and even now, their crushed bodies are being collected from the ocean by my undead.
All will serve.
As my undead begin to spread through the city, the PRT build their walls and forcefields around Brockton Bay to contain me. I will permit their delusions, for now, as I bring the city to heel. The ABB, the Merchants and now the Teeth.
I will permit not a single cape to live within my Kingdom that does not serve me.
[Tomb Kingdom] 500cp, 600cp remaining.
There are far more than just a few squads of skeleton warriors resting within your tomb. Upon your death, your entire army was buried alongside you, thousands of warriors committing ritual suicide so that they could accompany you to the next world. Along with them are chariots, golems, and beasts of all kinds. And that's just with the smallest of tombs. The larger your tomb, the larger your army grows. Can you imagine the undead legions that would emerge from something the size of the Black Pyramid?
In an instant, my forces multiply and I smile. An army befitting a King.
[Make It Bigger - Boosted (High-Tier)] - 200cp, 400cp remaining.
For 600TP, your pyramid will stand level with Nagash's Black Pyramid itself. It is just under two kilometres into the air and wide enough to store a small city within its base.
And they multiply again, all of Brockton Bay engulfed in the shadow of my great tomb. Nagash himself would envy such a magnificent pyramid.
[Empty Darkness] - 400cp, 0cp remaining.
It is one of the great nightmares of Egyptians to have their soul wander lost in the darkness forever, never to find Heaven or even Duat, and so I give you nothing. A lot of it. An entire realm of darkness and silence, stretching forever. On purchasing this item, you may decide if it is a void with only empty air or whether this is a barren, flat desert plain that extends into infinity, without even an odd rock to break its monotony.
Beings and souls sent into this empty darkness cannot escape unless pulled out from outside, barring you, of course, who have leave to enter and exit at your pleasure.
As I guide my forces, I smile to myself. The PRT may have pulled back, but I am far from done. This city will kneel before me, or I shall crush it and use their corpses as slaves to build a new one upon the ruins.
All shall serve the Great King. I shall build a new Nehekhara upon the ruins of this cape-cursed world, and it shall last for all time as a testament to my glory.
— Bonus Scene — Thomas Calvert (Coil)
Everything had gone to shit.
Trapped in his bunker, he scowled deeply. Years of planning, destroyed within a day of the Black Pyramid returning. His grand plan of becoming the new Director was rather moot, given the way the Rig had been crushed. He'd been in there in one timeline and witnessed the devastation first hand. He watched as the walls of the Rig caved in, crushing them all alive and sending the entire structure into the waves under the sheer weight and force of the Black Pyramid.
Even in his 'safe' timeline, he could not undo the devastation that Pharaoh was inflicting upon Brockton Bay. Undead were scouring the streets for any capes or gang members foolish enough to leave their homes, and his mercenaries would be slaughtered the instant they left.
He tried to plan his own escape from Brockton Bay, but anytime he tried, it ended in his death. His Tattletale had been reclaimed, and she was even grateful to be brought back into his base. The other Undersiders were less important and, therefore, not worth the risk. They would have to survive the containment zone by themselves.
He couldn't risk grabbing Dinah either, as in the two attempts he had made so far, the Undead had found his men. If a single one of his mercenaries died, they'd be brought back, and soon his base would be under siege.
Trapped beneath the conquered city, he scowled fiercely. Pharaoh had to be stopped. Still, he wasn't the last bastion of resistance.
Lung, New Wave, and some independents. There were those who still possessed the will to fight back. He could gather them up and prepare for war.
As ridiculous as it seemed, it fell to him to save Brockton Bay.