In dismal times, people turn to the gods in prayer. Heeding their prayers, their commands, the gods granted mortals innumerable gifts. Element bending has been the most prolific of these gifts, but the gods also granted mortals a great many relics to improve their lives and civilizations. But those gifts have only brought destruction.
Rob Lucci, a man with wavy black hair, sharp green eyes, and a goatee, reviewed old news footage and historical documents in the dark of his room. The Eggmen threatened Mobius with the stolen powers of the Chaos and Sol Emeralds. Davy Jones gunned down tons of ships with his cursed vessel. Similarly, his Negative gunned down tons of spaceships. Dracula and hordes of evil Nightmares terrorized the Earth, but that was to say nothing of the Demon King's hordes. The black hole that threatened the universe, expanding from Jirachi's power.
The deeds of heathen gods, the mistakes of 'noble' gods… and their deciding of worthy 'Chosen Ones' to set a line between Good and Evil. The gods merely think us as toys for their cosmic game, unconcerned for whom they endanger. But their need in this universe is at an end.
Slade Wilson, a man in dark and orange armor with a one-eyed mask, beheaded Anubis, a Mobian jackal and Galactic Army ranger. Shadow, a hedgehog with black and red hair and a white business suit, zipped all directions around Byleth, a green-haired mercenary, and struck with every opening. Byleth constantly rewound time with his bending, but Shadow was able to stab him through with his own power to slow down time. Deadpool, a man in a red and black superhero suit, happily munched a chimichanga before putting the killing bullet through Emperor Niall. Niall's Xenoblade, Aegaeon, reverted to his crystal form. Chase Young, a yellow-eyed lizard man, dueled the purple dragon Spyro with matching elements. Chase ultimately slew Spyro with a precise Finger Pistol through the dragon's skull.
Your reputations precede you… I sought you out because you were the best assassins out there.
"YO, Slade, surprised to see you here!" Deadpool beamed.
"Oh, for the love of—what in blazes is HE doing here?!" Deathstroke asked Lucci.
And this… is my mission for you.
Samiya was the core of the undersea kingdom, Oceana. Kyogre, the God of the Sea, watched the kingdom from the confines of his marble palace. He was a whale-like entity with huge, thick side fins, a blue back with red lines and white belly. "Hmmmm…" The Sea King felt a disturbance in his palace. Several blurs were felling his merman guards and their Water Pokémon. "So, it's begun…"
The first intruder walked into the throne room calmly. There was no way to breach a god's domain in secrecy and no need to be stealthy. Kyogre was already prepared to greet him. "Shadow the Hedgehog… I must say, I mistook you for a different hedgehog who visited my home 24 years ago. But you were assisting the Hero of Time back then…"
"Don't mistake me for someone blue and dead. That's about to be you."
"Clever…"
Deathstroke and Chase Young zipped in. "Kyogre Neptune," Slade spoke, "you are guilty for the creation of the pirate scourge, Davy Jones, who threatened the seas for 300 years. Face justice for your crimes!"
"Well, as my executioners, surely a band of Devil Fruit users, and a demon-blooded hedgehog, know better than to challenge a Sea God." (Play "Primal Kyogre Battle" from Pokémon!)
Water poured into the massive chamber at a rapid rate. However, a silver-haired man in black clothes and a single dark wing flew in, slashing his long katana in a clean circle. Waves of light-purple chi flew from his blade, forcing the waves toward the walls. "It is pretty poor planning in hindsight." Sephiroth said.
"There'd be no luring out this fish otherwise." Chase said. The assassins divided when Kyogre spat a gust of water. He focused on Chase first and swirled a cyclone around him, but Chase merely zipped through and used wandless magic to freeze the cyclone. Kyogre crumbled the ice to crush Chase, then switched attention to Sephiroth, bending a Water Shield to protect his left fin from a slice, then he floated higher when Slade tried to Tempest Kick his belly. Kyogre dropped a storm of giant droplets over the room, but Shadow countered them with a storm of Chaos Spears, and amidst that chaos, Chase combined Shaves and Moon Walks to reach Kyogre and Tempest Kick—the king countered with a Water Slice, but then lost his left fingers to a surprise cut from Sephiroth.
Kyogre forced the outer waves out from the gravity hold and shot juts of water at the assassins, the band using Paper Art to evade—Kyogre's mind blipped out for a second, during which Slade got beneath and shot rapid Finger Pistols at the stomach. Kyogre caught him in a water tentacle and squeezed, Slade using Iron Body in defense—Kyogre blipped out again, for Shadow had used the Forgetful Glance this time. The hedgehog had flown up and used a Homing Attack to drill into Kyogre's right eye. However, the eye blasted out a teardrop, shaping a giant whale that pushed Shadow toward the outer water. The hedgehog sliced through the whale to disperse it and regained himself. The god's eyes glowed as he forced the assassins to sweat rapidly, intending to dry them up from inside while also molding that sweat into a bubble to drown them.
Some swift Shaves escaped his hold and nullified the effect, and Chase Young magically conjured globs of water to shoot at his allies and replenish their bodies. Sephiroth stopped Kyogre from grabbing that water by forcing him toward the doorway with gravity. The king willed all the moisture in the air to become hot and steamy, but they tolerated the heat as Shadow and Chase Shaved over. Chase burned Kyogre with fire spells before the whale condensed some of the steam into a bomb to explode against him. Shadow rapidly pelted him with Home Attacks mixed with Tempests, before Kyogre did a Torpedo Spin to repel him. Kyogre tried to Torpedo Spin at Slade, and not surprisingly, the man dodged—only for Kyogre to send out a shockwave of water to blow him back. Kyogre twisted around and shot bullets at Slade, who used Iron Body to endure. Sephiroth forced Kyogre to the ground and dealt a chop to his tail.
Using Ventus Glacius, Chase cooled the steamy air, but Kyogre used this against them as he suddenly chilled the chamber. Though a great contrast to the heat, the assassins were trained for harsh weather conditions. Chase was the most affected due to his reptilian traits, so he used Fire Magic to warm the air back up. Kyogre froze Sephiroth and Shadow into ice, but they shook free and shattered it. With his Chaos Emerald recharged, Shadow entered Chaos Fury, his hair flaring red. The hedgehog sped over to Kyogre, and though the whale flew up in evasion, Sephiroth used gravity to make Shadow fly into Kyogre's belly. "Chaos BLAST!" Shadow released an explosion of chi, wounding Kyogre. Sephiroth's gravity kept Shadow bound to him, so the Sea God tried to hammer Shadow to the ground. Only then the hedgehog zipped off and onto Kyogre's back. Another Chaos Blast injured him, and Sephiroth joined in by slicing the left fin.
Kyogre called in fierce waves to sweep the assassins, all of whom used Paper Art in evasion, except Shadow, who Moon Walked up after the flying whale. Kyogre spat a Water Gun against Shadow's next Chaos Blast—however, Slade had used Humming Bird to deceive him of Shadow's location, allowing the hedgehog to burn his last Chaos Blast over Kyogre's forehead. Kyogre spun and whacked Shadow away, then dodged left when Sephiroth sent a Tempest at his right fin. "The sea has no more need of you." Chase said. "After giving birth to children, you should have taken your own life. You were already a failure of a Sea God."
"Ah, but then I wouldn't live to see my lovely grandchildren. I've made my mistakes… I've wronged a lot of people… and I've failed many people who believed in me. But if this is to be my execution, let my brethren see me vanish with pride!"
His skin became a deeper shade of blue, his red lines were replaced by bubbles of golden chi that coursed through his being. Primal Kyogre mustered enormous power and rose the floor of the throne room through the roof. Kyogre suspended them high above Oceana, his godly form seen by all the citizens. His aura attracted all the creatures of the sea to the bubble surrounding the kingdom. From that bubble, Kyogre sent fierce streams at the assassins, who flew with Moon Walk Shaves. The god dove at them, but Chase conjured a Protego shield, and they pressed their Iron Bodies against to reinforce it. Slade zipped around the shield to land on Kyogre's head and electrocute him, but escaped as Kyogre released Bubble Bombs. Sephiroth used his bending to help his allies stay afloat, but they were already bound by Kyogre's next move.
He had released small tears from his eyes and willed them up into CP0's ducts. They experienced strange visions of people crying, so they used Life Return to force the tears back out, making the visions flicker on and off. In fact, one of Shadow's visions depicted Tails, crying as he tried to defend his girlfriend, Cosmo from Shadow himself. Kyogre flew through the top of the bubble, the nearby fish clearing away as he drilled down with a giant cyclone. He encased the surrounding area in a thick water barrier to keep them from escaping. The assassins dove downward, while Sephiroth sent gravity waves to attract dozens of citizens to himself, using them as a shield. Kyogre was forced to stop, and Sephiroth's katana stabbed perfectly between the civilians and through Kyogre's nose area. He had thrown the sword, and then Shadow swiftly zipped up to grab the hilt. With a kick of his jets, Shadow carved the sword up Kyogre's back, but was repelled by a jet of Kyogre's blood.
The blood morphed into a smaller version of Kyogre, violently lashing at Shadow, whose speedy maneuvers evaded it while he tried slicing and dispersing the Blood Beast. "All my techniques were learned from the mortals whom I granted my bending." Kyogre puffed bubbles into Slade and Chase, increasing the reproductivity of their cells, causing their flesh to swell. They used Life Return to set their cells straight. "The experience of all benders culminate inside us!" Kyogre slurped up some water and inflated himself, beginning to zip around like a massive water rocket. They used Paper Art to evade him, but Kyogre also willed their bodies to sweat, dampening them to where Paper Art was nullified and Shadow and Chase took hits. Slade and Sephiroth, however, dealt forceful Tempest Kicks that were enough to hold the balloon in place.
"Which only proves we're more fit to rule." Sephiroth enforced gravity to pull both halves of Kyogre in separate directions. Kyogre's rip widened, and seeing this, Shadow clutched Sephiroth's sword and went for the Home Attack, the outreached blade spinning like a long fan. Kyogre's Blood Beast tried to ram Shadow, but it was frozen by Chase. Shadow brutally sawed the interior of Kyogre's wound, his body deflating as blood and water spurted everywhere.
"Kuuuu…" His life diminishing, Kyogre shot toward the surface of Oceana. He encased the area around the assassins with thick water and charged energy in his lungs. With more Blood Beasts to fend them, Slade was the one to bravely dive down. With enough energy built, Kyogre unleashed a Hyper Beam wide enough to envelop the enclosed space. Slade surged a ball of red energy in his hands and threw it directly through the beam's epicenter. (End song.)
…
…
The beam's divine light could be seen for miles over the sea. It cast an ethereal glow over the entire ocean, so all mortals could see it no matter which shore. "Melody… what's happening?" Tsuyu asked.
Melody was awed at the mystical glow of the sea. "Melody… this light feels like… Dad." Manaphy spoke.
After a moment more of staring… the glow faded. "Ah!" Melody gasped.
"Melody, you felt it, too?!"
"I'm confused… what was it?" replied the frog in confusion.
"I…I think something's happened… to Kyogre!"
…
The assassins had dove into the water barrier to avoid the Hyper Beam, but it dispersed as soon as Slade did the deed. His Zap Storm had exploded from within Kyogre, frying what remained of his stamina. Sephiroth's bending softened their fall as the townsfolk looked on, speechless and horrified. "Lord Kyogre…"
"What've you done to our king?!"
"Who are you four?!" A band of merkids surfed over with bubble floats, led by Oceana KND leader, Kaima. "Stand down! You're all under arrest!"
"Because of your god, you've had to suffer under Davy Jones." Shadow replied. "I heard he even kept your beloved Fairy Princess captive here. Soon, you'll see that you don't need him. Chaos Warp-"
The same time Shadow teleported them, Slade used a Forgetful Glance to make the onlookers' minds blip out, so they hadn't realized they teleported until it was too late. Kyogre's remains slowly dissolved into particles of blue chi, scattering around the sea. His elderly crab attendant, Sebastian, skittered to his dying face, his old face drooped with despair. "Your Majesty…" He pat his claw to the whale's face before it disappeared.
Heaven's Arena
Saitama's luxury suite gave him the highest view in Coruscant. Thanks to special protection, spaceships were unable to fly up here. The only way up was by crossing Saitama's arena in the floor below, coming up the stairs, and using the extravagant key Saitama had earned in becoming Top Floor champion. He almost never had any reason to leave… except when certain issues arose.
"DAMMIT! I'm all out of the True Organic eggs!" Saitama could never trust eShop Delivery to get the brand right, let alone make sure the eggs weren't cracked. With that, it was up to him to go down to the market and get the eggs he needed. When leaving the suite, he always took with him his special glove, as well as the key to his suite. First, he had to come down the stairs and pass through his own arena. "?" There weren't any matches scheduled, so naturally there was no one in attendance. But it seemed that a challenger was waiting on the arena. "Oh, hey, Lucci."
It was a fellow champion from Floor 100, topped with his white hat and matching suit. "One-Punch Saitama… there's something I need from you."
"You coulda had them call me down. That's really the…" usually the only way to get ahold of someone from higher floors. "How did you get up here?"
"Easy. I blew through the competition."
Several of the champions on the floors below were down from Lucci's swift strength. "I did it the same way you did." Lucci said. Withdrawing his left hand from behind him, it was donned with a gauntlet, the hand black with white knuckles, and a thick wrist of white and gold.
"Oh…you found the other one, huh?"
"Yes… in the possession of the Sympho Fighters on Symphonia. It was tight, but we managed to strike its owner down at the best possible moment. Where did you find that one?"
"Got it from my teacher. Said he thought I might be the best one to have it."
"And you used it to cheat your way up here."
"I mean, I can knock out any foe in one hit. Seems like the best place to wait for strong guys. So, you wanna fight me?" Saitama readily put on his right, red rubber glove.
"Gladly. Your reign as champion is over."
"I'm still pretty tough." Saitama zipped at Lucci, rapidly thrusting his right fist, but using Observation Haki, Lucci maneuvered his left palm to block at the right positions. Saitama also thrusted his left, but Lucci merely evaded those hits. Eventually, he grabbed Saitama's right fist in his left, squeezing it as the arena heavily rumbled from the struggle of the equal weapons. Lucci swung a Tempest Kick, so Saitama jumped away—his mind blipped out. His fist was already in an arched swinging position, but Lucci had ducked his supposed punch and was below him. Lucci threw his gauntlet up and landed a successful punch to Saitama's stomach. The champion flew up to the ceiling at a diagonal angle, leaving a crater from the impact.
Saitama crashed down, his dull face barely changed as he lay unconscious. And so, Lucci pried his right glove off him. He pulled the other gauntlet out of the glove. "The One-Punch Gauntlets… only both of these together can fell a god." By now, his comrades should have finished off Kyogre. But it was only because he had conceived children that he was 'mortal.' The other gods wouldn't fall the same way without these.
"Except… those New Firstborn." Lucci remembered Slade's report. The Whistling Arrow had cleanly punctured Skaios' only good eye. And yet, the Sky God still lived with that eye intact. "Then we still need the trident… so, where is it? Hm…" It would no doubt take longer to finish off the Newborn. And considering their newfound Guardians, they would potentially be far stronger than the gods. "Sigh…those brats… really are frustrating."
GKND H.Q.
"Okay! Ready or not, here I come!" Opening her robotic eyes, Boly began crawling around the cafeteria floor. She scanned for any high signs of chi. Some of the Newborn Guardians were sitting at further tables, sharing a meal.
"Well, I've already given up." Miko Kubota shrugged, biting a chilidog.
"I mean, just how hard is it to find micro-size gods?" Eddy Flores asked.
"There's probably some that could." Romeo Conbolt guessed.
"Aha!" Boly pointed at a speck of flame. "I sense a tiny concentration of Fire Chi… Victini!" The robot crawled a little more. "And there's Marshadow!" A speck of dark. Her bunny-like ears twitched as she faced up, seeing a rainbowish speck. "There's Meloetta! And there's Jirachi!" A shooting star speck.
"Whooooo's ready for Niagara Soup?" Yuzu Kurosaki brought out a huge bowl of soup and beef shaped into Niagara Falls.
Boly rose up and observed the soup. "And there's Gourmerry!" The tiny Foodborn in question was surfing down the falls.
"Looks like they lose, Synthia!" Rupert Dickson laughed. "You can change 'em back."
"Okay!" A little speck of light fluttered out of Rupert's hair. She touched each of the Firstborn and returned them to their normal, infant sizes.
"I smell food!" Marshadow beamed, floating toward the source of the smell. His brethren following suit, the Firstborn gathered around the bowl and munched their fill of the Niagara Soup.
"HEY, SHARE SOME WITH ME, MATIES!" Skaios, the eyepatched god with a sky-colored body, zoomed in and dug into the bowl.
"HAHA! He's sure gotten used to YOUR cooking, Yuzu!" Masaru Daimon laughed. Nebula, King Evan, and Tani entered after him.
"Way to change moods." Tani commented.
"Hey, King Evan!" Romeo smiled in recognition. "What're you two doing here?"
"They… came to me with some pressing news." Nebula answered. The Guardians all looked over with worrying gazes, the levity of the atmosphere lifting away.
"Someone tried to kill Skaios sometime ago." Tani explained. "They shot an arrow through his eye."
"Oh…" The weight of the knowledge stunned Miko for a moment. "I mean, it's not surprising." She shrugged, resuming a carefree demeanor. "He was… kind of a dangerous criminal. Probably some out there that still want his head." She felt Skaios staring at her and met his offended gaze. "What? It's not like you can die, anyway!"
"You're forgettin' somethin', lass. Me eye was permanently run through by some scurvy dog's weapon! And that arrow… it may not've done me in, but it felt the same!"
"Eyewitnesses say it was a man with an eyepatch." Evan relayed.
"Yeah! EYE-WITNESSES!" Masaru pointed at his one open eye and shut the other. "AHAHAHAHA!"
"You really don't read the mood well." Tani said.
"Hey, it's a good joke, it is!" Skaios argued. "But the fact stands someone is after my life!"
"I've got a suspect in mind." Nebula replied. "You guys know about CP0, right?"
"Uh-huh." Romeo nodded. "Maria said she fought three of their members with Sector SA."
"And… weren't their apprentices in Aincrad with us?" Miko asked. "Though those kids were operatives, too."
"Eh, I think only a couple were." Eddy clarified. "I think there were some bad ones, too."
"We were first reported about CP0 last November." Nebula continued. "And, supposedly… their aim is to assassinate gods."
"G-Gods?" Marshadow stuttered.
"Gourme…" the Foodborn whimpered.
"But they've never made any moves on that front to our knowledge. And we still haven't determined if Skaios' assailant was-"
"Numbuh Eternal!" Jerome splorped into the room.
"GAH!" Nebula fell on her back. "Jerome, save it for Halloween!"
"We just got a report from the Oceanic KND. The Sea King, Kyogre… he was…"
Oceana
"HE'S DESTROYED?!"
Melody had to shout back the flabbergasting news in order to comprehend it. She, her mother, and Sector L had sailed all the way to Oceana after they had felt the disturbance. In the space of ruined ground where Kyogre last lay, a garden of glowing, aquatic flowers grew. "H-He was…" Sebastian sniffled. Froppy knelt down to pat the little crab's shell. "A band of criminals broke into de palace… De king fought proudly, but they… Those dirty scoundrels…"
"I don't believe it…" Eva whispered. "Kyogre…"
Looking back, she could scarcely remember that the old man who used to live up the street was the Sea God. Not just that… but her birth father. Eva remembered being very stressed back then… being kidnapped by Davy Jones, and the notion that she would have to leave her friends and live in Oceana. And that was after a bunch of other nonsense with her late cousin. Eva was pretty frustrated back then… so, she bore lingering resentment toward Kyogre. And it didn't help her to learn that he pressured Fairy Princess Lapis into staying here when she wanted to return home.
Yet… when this new development hit her… it left a void inside her. Her daughter felt it, too. Another man in their family was lost. "Papa…" Manaphy wept, crawling over the mystic flowers. "Then… the only one who can grant waterbending… is me now. I have to be… the Sea King."
"Manaphy…" Melody whispered. The carefree Firstborn wasn't expecting such a responsibility so suddenly… but deep down, he felt this had to happen eventually.
Yuta Asahina was knelt before the flowers in prayer. His Adabatian blood compelled him to pay his respects to the Ocean King. "Lord Kyogre… I regret that we never got a chance to meet. But… it's been an honor working with your granddaughter. Melody and her mother are such amazing ladies. And, though I never met him, your grandson Danny was a brave and kind boy. You must be proud…"
"…I am…" Manaphy spoke.
"Hm?"
"Uh…sorry. Those words… just appeared inside me."
Tokyo; Nagisa's apartment
Nagisa returned home after a visit with Shino. He and his new friend had immersed themselves in a couple hours of games. Leaving her company made Nagisa empty… because he knew he was returning home to no one. His mom showed no signs of returning from the hospital. "Sigh…" He drolly unlocked his door and walked into darkness. "Let's see how much dust piled u-"
A tongue whipped his neck. Nagisa stumbled against the wall, propping himself. "Nnnh…" He touched the spot as darkness clouded his eyes. "W…what…"
"You hate the Newborn… hate the gods the same as we do." Chase Young said from the darkness.
"What?!" Nagisa flipped the lights on, making his dark-yellow armored form clean. "You! You were…ah!"
"You might seem noble-hearted… but deep down, you resent the Newborn for the threat they pose. You wish to destroy them. My Bad-Bad Fruit calls upon that evil inside you!"
"Huff…huff…"
"Want to know how I found your address? Why, Killua told me… after I used the same technique. Our disciples are rebellious… but a dose of darkness makes them cooperative. So, cooperate with us. I won't take you now… but if you know anything… if you have anything that could be of use to us… feel free to report to us. You have Killua's number, so you can relay to him. Farewell, young apprentice."
Chase was swiftly and discretely gone from the apartment, the door shut. Nagisa stood in a darkened daze. He resumed his initial plan and began to clean whatever fragments of dust had built up. But tomorrow… he would have to ask a couple people some questions.