Chereads / ZX: The foreverlasting / Chapter 18 - Chapter 18: The unknown

Chapter 18 - Chapter 18: The unknown

Jack finds himself warped into a dark room with a mysterious figure restrained by chains that are coming from each side attached to their wrists and keeping them stretched with little to no movement as they on their knees with no shirt on and faced down.

Jack: Tch... where am I? (He asks himself as he observes his surroundings being completely unfamiliar with it.) Hmmm... Hello? (He slowly walks up to the Individual in chains with caution as he notices that the chain to his right arm snaps.) Tch... (He crouches down to look to not only see that it is a man but looks to be one of Odiz' counterparts.)

The man instantly uses his freed hand to grab Jack's throat and looks at him in the eyes coldly as the air becomes less and less for Jack.

Jack: Ah! Tch... (He swings his fists down on the man's wrist to get him to let go off him but isn't successful he tries to use his phasing ability but isn't able to leaving Jack no further actions to try.)

The man stands up to his own two feet raises Jack off the ground and he asks him the question "Who are you?"

Jack: I-I'm .. Jack... I... I'm from a different universe. One that's currently in danger, infact EVERY universe is in danger. In my world I'm friends with a few counterparts of yours.

The man tilted his head in curiosity after hearing Jack say the word counterpart, which triggers him into single handedly choking him "You... friends with that..." before the man could finish his speech a chain appears attaching onto his neck and waist paralysing the man releasing Jack from his grip before the chains drag the man against the wall. Another man with the same appearance as the man in chains, Zyr, Odiz and others with the only exception being the color of his eyes being dark red. He walks into the room through a door of light that just suddenly appears.

Mystery man: That's enough! (He says to the man as he attaches more Chains to his body.)

Jack gasps for air in matter of seconds before breathing well again.

Jack: (He looks at man's attire and hair to not mistaken him to be a different counterpart of odiz and whispers but in a loud enough tone at the man, unsure whether it's him or not.)...Ghost?

Ghost: (He turns his sight to Jack with a look of confusion) Jack? How the HELL did you get here?

Jack: I don't know, I was going after a shard of the nexus I got levitated into the air by the shard and next thing I know I'm here... (he looks at the man) Who's he?

Ghost: Brian... But he likes calling himself Octane. He's...

Jack: Your counterpart? I can tell, after so many years, so many altered pasts and futures, you learn a thing or two about identifying who you talking to.

Ghost: (He chuckles denying his answer as he shakes his head) No. He's not MY counterpart.

Jack: Hmm? What do you mean?

Ghost: Ah, its... Not important, right now.

Jack: Alright... so what day is it?

Ghost: 13 May.

Jack: tch! Year?

Ghost: 2024.

Jack: Hm... Where's the others? Why you alone?

Ghost: ...They all dead, Jack... Agregore killed them all.

Jack: (He stares at ghost in complete shock) W-what? T-Thats... How?

Ghost: After the... Battleworld incident. Carter became the new Red Death and Agregore came to earth, looking for the shards. We... We weren't ready for his arrival.

[Flashback]

April 7 2024 10:00 A.M

Ghost narration: "Agregore first showed up in Newcastle."

The whole city is in ruins. Wearing a ZX suit; (A suit is made of high and black fabriced materials, its tight fitting to the body. The suit has white metal plated armor like pads on the elbows and shoulders joint areas) Odiz Olams crashes into a rubble of a building at high speeds from the air with a bright yellow energy aura. Agregore from a distance of 20 meters, sees as the yellow aura around Odiz's body fade away as the only thing seen in the rubble is Odiz's left hand burnt and not moving. Agregore smiles coldly before getting blasted by Zero from behind; wearing the same Zx suit as Odiz and holding two pistol-type cannons in both hands that fire energy projectiles that do no more than just push Agregore forward slightly. Zero walks towards Agreore as he continuously fires the energy projectiles at the man before Agregore turns around with his left fist swung back, knocking Zero to the ground groaning in pain before Agregore steps on his back and forces his right hand fingers into the back of his head grabbing and pulling out a large chuck of Zero's back skull revealing the brain that he thrusts his fist into crushing it and killing Zero. Agregore licks the stain of blood on his fist before walking into a partly ruined castle that keeps a shard of the nexus.

Ghost Narration: "Noone stood a chance." Ghost brings himself out of a rubble in an injured state as he watches Agregore destroy the castle with the O.I exploisé causing the shard to reveal itself infront of Agregore who grabs the shard with a smile of satisfaction. "He had the shard in his hands and started absorbing it before..." Agregore looks at his hand holding the shard in confusion as cracks of light start forming on his arms and soon body, with a look of realization visible on his face however too later as he screams with a blinding light that fades after 6 seconds, revealing Agregore and the shard to be gone.

Ghost narration: "He just... disappeared."

[Flashback ends]

Jack: ... Damn... So this... IS universe 20023.

Ghost: Yeah... Jack, I'mma be honest with you... I'm completely lost here. What the hell is going on, WHY are you here now? And how are you alive?

Jack: Okay okay... so uhm.... A year back, there was this war.

Ghost: War against Kato and the watchers...

Jack: Right, and then there was tge battleworld where every reality came as one to fight each other for one thing.

Ghost: The power of realities, yes, I know, Jack. Just tell me how you alive.

Jack: I'm not. I'm a revenant.

Ghost: (He leans close to Jack, observing him closely.) ...You don't look like a revenant.

@Jack has a fair skin complexion, blue eyes and ginger hair.

Jack: Yeah? So does David, Ezra and Gabriel.

Ghost: Mmm... Shit you right.

Jack: ...Wait. When last have you seen me?

Ghost: Before the battleworld.

Jack: Tch... Okay. (He starts to walk around back and forth with his hand on his chin while mumbling words to himself before out.) Strange...

Ghost: What?

Jack: You and I are from the same universe. Which is this one, the one we standing in which feels... normal to me.

Ghost: Huh?

Jack: I get this weird tingling sense with my speed lowered then usual when I'm in a different universe, past or future. But right now... nothing.

Ghost: Okay? I think... Agregore just might have... trapped you in Gabriel's hypnosis.

Jack: Nah, I would have noticed ages ago.

Ghost: You sure...? I mean... Agregore can increase the efficiency of his vessel's abilities.

Octane [whispering under breath]: Damn parasite...

Jack: (He hears Octane's words and looks at him.) Parasite?

Ghost: Ignore him.

Jack: (He looks at Ghost for a bit before ignoring him and proceeding to ask octane.) What Parasite?

Octane: (He glares directly at them.) The one that took my life and made Me watch make a mockery of me.

Ghost: Octane... has been affected by the alterations.

Jack: Tch... He's.... H-H-He's from that time? (He asks In disbelief)

Ghost: ....Yes, He is. (He walks up to Octane) How he even survived to this day. Remains a mystery that not even the book of Zire has answers to.

@Book of Zire is a book that holds answers to any and everything.

Jack: ... Why not put him out of his misery?

Ghost: ... The parasite in him won't die. It will instead go airborne and effect someone else. Then the next... This... is his fate.

[In the mud flats of southern Spain]

Jasper Braddock, Xavier Darhk and Ethan Walker appear walking in the deserted lands that Jack was last located.

Walker: hmmm. The shard is here. I can feel its aura.

Braddock: Which direction?

Walker: Everywhere. If what the book says is true then these shards... all are connected to each other which means...

Xavier: There's a fucking twat out there messing with one of the shards.

Walker: Indeed.

The shard of the nexus reveals itself from taking the illusionary form of the sun now its original form infront of them.

Braddock: Oi! Over there! (He points at the direction of the shard.)

Walker Has already gone after the shard, flying at his max speed with his hand extended nearly at reach before the shard releases large purple waves around itself pushing Walker back and engulfing the area and having all three of them warped into different areas.

Braddock: (He finds himself in what seems to be a royal bedroom where he is on the ground next to a large king sized bed.) Tch... Fucking hell. (He gets up from the ground and sees a woman in nude sitting up on the bed tired with her long dark brown hair in a mess.) Tch... It can't be... (his eyes are in complete shock as he recognises the woman to be Melissa a woman who has died in the Battle world.)

Melissa: (She stretches her arms with a yawn before looking at Braddock with a gently smile) Good morning... B.

In what seems to a lake where the moon's light flashes down beautifully in, Ethan floats in the water unconscious.

Walker: (He awakens with a jerk and gasp, sitting up in the water confused on where he and the others are and what did the crystal do before he could do anything further He's propelled into the air by the water before getting blasted across onto land by a pulse of air fired by a silhouette hidden in forest.) TCH... You think I can't see you!?! (He flies towards the silhouette only to get pierced from below in the stomach area by a large spike of tree roots. The silhouette then reveals to have been just roots made to trap Him. He bleeds out tons of blood from his mouth as he looks down at his own blood and guts leaking out to the ground and spike keeping him there.) URGH... what... the... hell.... (He closes his eyes and seems to unconscious or dead.)

Xavier: (He finds himself in an underground base filled with people in rags and I apocalyptic attires, he is woken up by a large explosion that seems to have also startled the people into panic.) W-where... am I?

Two holes gets blasted open through by two individuals. A male is heard from the distance where the individuals stand in the smoke yelling "They here!!! RUUN!!" Before a sound of the male getting his body cut in one swoop is heard. The people all started running around the area as lasers appear blasting and cutting through every person in the way. Xavier conjures a shield and sword of energy, flies forth to defend family group of 3 from two lasers headed towards them. He uses the shield to block and reflect the laser before reshaping the shield into a large sharp round object he throws at the direction of the individuals who one of them catch In the smoke.

Xavier: Tch... Show yourselves!!

The smoke covering the area gets blown away by the individuals pressurised aura revealing themselves to Xavier.

Xavier: tch.... D... Dad?

Narration: The individuals standing Infront of Xavier are none other then the two jovian rulers of earth, Azreal Darhk and Ezra Darhk of Universe X.

Azreal: Well looky here Brother... Not only did we find these rebels base but we also found a mutant... how wonderful. (He dashes in an instant notice now appearing infront of Xavier with his hand extended and piercing through his chest.)

Xavier: urgh!? (He looks down in surprise to see Azreal's entire arm inside his chest, in utter shock he doesn't move just feels completely numb.)