The seven stood before the van, tense, fists clenched, eyes ablaze. Ahead, Incarceration emerged from the darkness like a shadow bleeding into fire—towering above them, cybernetic wings unfurling, pulsing with red and violet veins of energy that twisted and writhed like serpents. His eyes, molten crimson, scanned the Heroes, low and sharp. A fanged grin stretched across his face, hungry and confident.
"Kids these days… never learning," he purred, voice deep, resonant, vibrating through the smoke-choked orange sky. The cannon in his hands warped with energy, crimson and violet streaks spiraling around it like living fire, flares darting off in unpredictable arcs. Sparks danced, bouncing across the field, feeding on the chaos surrounding him. Alien Uragas shrieked, Celestianites and Lunaranites clashed mid-air, explosions raining shards of pink, cyan, and molten gold like fireworks gone mad.
Olsen's fists clenched on the Hammer of Earth. "Relentless heroes," Incarceration murmured, lifting the cannon, wings flaring wider, the edges of the feathers flickering in black-to-red gradients. "But fighting for… nothing?" His voice rolled across the battlefield, each word dripping danger, aura thick enough to color the sky in deep scarlet streaks. Smoke and dust twisted, spiraling upward, glowing faintly under his influence.
"I don't see why you cling to this wretched world…" he continued, voice rising like a tidal wave of doom, "Celestia… gone. Avangard… will follow."
Jaylen landed beside Olsen, wings sparking, fists clenched. "You really think we'll let that happen?" he growled.
Incarceration's smirk widened, the cannon pulsing with crimson magma-light, arcs of violet energy leaping outward. Sparks ricocheted across the field, dancing in patterns almost alive, taunting them. "Come closer," he said, each word slow, deliberate. "I promise… it won't hurt… much."
Suddenly, blue lightning tore across the battlefield. Power moved faster than perception itself, ghosting by Incarceration's shoulder, fists colliding with a tidal wave of blue energy that whipped the wind into chaotic spirals.
Incarceration caught the attack mid-swing, towering overhead, casting a shadow over everything, a giant against the chaos. "CHARGE FORWARD!" he bellowed. His fists slammed out, energy trails flaming with deep blue and violet arcs. Power was hurled three feet, spun, slammed into debris. Mountains and rubble tore apart under his aura, scattering colored dust like a violent sunrise.
Prince blazed forward, lightning crackling gold and electric blue, ghosting past Incarceration's flank for a gut strike. Incarceration blocked, shockwave of pure cerulean fire erupting, jagged rocks spinning upward, each fragment catching light and color like a prism.
Red energy flared from his cannon, massive beams slashing through the terrain, saturating the skies in crimson brilliance, heat and light rippling through the smoke. Olsen swung his hammer—but Incarceration's backhand sent him sliding across jagged earth. Ella's sand tsunamis glimmered amber-gold, only to dissipate against his leap, leaving trails of sparkling dust in their wake. The ground beneath him rippled and reformed with every step, auric energy radiating outward, color bleeding across the battlefield.
Jaylen unleashed dream energy, violet and silver ribbons spiraling toward him. Archie followed with molten fire, an orange sunball blazing, colliding mid-air with Incarceration's crimson beam—explosion painted in blinding gold, red, and magenta streaks. Incarceration rolled and leapt across mountainsides, leaving trails of kinetic energy that shimmered violet, crimson, and obsidian, as if the earth itself obeyed his will.
Eli teleported, time itself bending around him, spinning past Incarceration mid-air in slow motion. Knife hands tore green arcs through the air, detonating energy shockwaves that radiated outward, fractal patterns spreading across the battlefield like living stained glass. Radiance enveloped everything—gold, cyan, green, violet—before Incarceration slammed into the ground, only to rise again, cannon glowing, wings slicing through the haze like molten blades.
Power and Prince followed, synchronized strikes of lightning and blue energy. Olsen dashed, hammer smashing armor plates, each strike echoing with ruby sparks and trailing violet smoke. BWOOOMMMM! Shockwave hurled Incarceration like a meteor, streaking red, violet, gold through the shattered terrain.
Angel and Sophia unleashed spiraling dark blue and magenta energies. Portals ripped open, funneling him downward. Incarceration's eyes darted in panic, crimson and violet reflections flickering like a storm.
Jaylen blinked at light-speed, Dream Punch shattering the ground, fracturing mountains. Terrain bent under the raw color and force.
Incarceration rose, a towering silhouette against the glowing crater. Olsen, Prince, Archie, Ella—all converged, each strike leaving radiant trails: cyan lightning arcs, molten fire streaks, golden hammer smashes, sandy whirlwinds glittering amber.
Eli froze the battlefield in a green-hued temporal bubble, rewinding seconds. One hundred knife strikes raked across Incarceration in spiraling emerald arcs. Energy trails coiled and flared with each strike. Time released—blinding green shockwave engulfed the field.
Then… silence.
Every particle hummed with color, every breath saturated. Incarceration—towering, evil, untouchable—stood as the embodiment of devastation, aura dripping like liquid fire, eyes blazing crimson. "Everyone here, is mediocre…. no power—is powerful enough—to finish the worst…" The world itself seemed to tremble beneath him.
A figure stepped forward. Starla. Horns blazing, astral energy radiating, eyes filled with unyielding determination. She gripped her horns, lifting Incarceration effortlessly. Astral flames, yellow and cyan, erupted from the earth beneath her, enveloping her in divine fire.
"Nightmare, motherfucker," she whispered, then roared, flickering away.
BOOOOOOM!!! Her fists slammed into his gut. The explosion ripped through the battlefield, flattening mountains, cracking the ground, rattling clouds. Dust choked the sky.
Starla dropped to her knees, her chest heaving, eyes burning like molten crystals. Around her, the others began to gather, one by one leaping into the massive crater the battle had carved into the earth. Dust hung thick in the air, curling in eddies around the debris of shattered mountains, splintered towers, and ruined streets.
Incarceration lay sprawled on all fours, trembling. A single drop of blood slid from his cracked lip, glittering like a dark jewel in the red-streaked dust. The battlefield had been purged, for the first time, by the combined might of Celestia's defenders. For the first time, the nightmare paused.
He touched the blood with a metal-fingered hand, lifting it slowly, inspecting it as though the reality of it might shatter at a touch. Zenith blood. His own. The arrogance that usually colored his expression faltered, replaced by something alien: shock.
Jaylen landed in front, tail sweeping like a whip of dominance, wings bristling with tense energy. Kayson and Kai stomped forward, twin hurricanes of power, their steps shaking the ground.
Jaylen's voice rang out, steady, unwavering: "It's over. Time to give up. This… is the end."
"WHO SAID YOU COULD TALK!!!" Incarceration roared, slamming his fists into the ground. Red energy exploded outward, a column of fire tearing toward Jaylen. The blasting wave barreled across the battlefield, flattening debris, uprooting rocks, whipping the wind into a screaming gale. A tower of crimson fire erupted from the ground, reaching skyward as Incarceration screamed to the heavens:
"RAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! HAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Lightning-like streaks of red ran across his body, veins glowing as raw energy surged. Then—KA-KOOM! A cataclysmic burst erupted, throwing the Heroes into the air like leaves caught in a hurricane. The explosion folded in on itself, then rebounded, glitching the battlefield's reality.
The wind roared in cyclonic fury. Incarceration's eyes blazed hellish red, cannon crackling, fully primed. But before he could fire—
"OVERPOWERED OVERHAND!"
Power's fist collided with Incarceration's chin, a blue shockwave cracking the air like fragile glass. Incarceration reeled, blood trickling from his lip. The world paused for a heartbeat. Then he chuckled, low and cruel. "Heh… Is that all you've got?"
Power's eyes widened as Incarceration wrenched his arm away, voice a growl: "I dream of NIGHTMARES YOU CAN'T EVEN COMPREHEND!"
BOOOOM!!
A red shockwave detonated from his punch, hurling Power across the battlefield. Chaos erupted anew. Incarceration grabbed Olsen, snapping him over his knee as easily as breaking a twig. Archie's arm twisted mid-punch before he was flung aside. Lightning crackled as Prince blitzed him, but Incarceration caught his head and slammed it down, a red shockwave flattening half the field.
Eli teleported, freezing time to strike—but Incarceration shattered through it, uppercutting him into orbit. Starla rained celestial beams from above, yet Incarceration stood, cannon aimed, unmoved.
Daysni dove from behind, wrapping her arms around the cannon, trying to pin it. Incarceration thrashed, howling, whipping the cannon wildly.
BOOM! Lonnie Mae's vines coiled around his legs, yanking him to the ground. From above, Drake dropped, blasted mud covering him, sticking him fast. Mason spun in a spiky doughnut form, front-flipped, wrapping Incarceration in dough, twisting him into the dirt.
"PIERCING CLOTHESLINE!!!" He slammed him down. The ground cracked for miles.
Incarceration emerged, unharmed, blasting beams in every direction. Ryan was struck before he could even reach him. Sophia's soundwaves reflected back, launching her screaming into the sky. Angel was backhanded. Emely got shot in the face by a fist. Fedjina smacked aside by the cannon swing.
He turned toward William, charging, firing a massive blast that erupted into a red explosion, shaking the earth and vibrating the wind itself.
Metal boots ground against cracked earth. Incarceration yanked Olsen by the collar, slamming him down. Shockwaves rippled outward. He reformed his arm into a massive cannon, humming ominously, ready to obliterate anything nearby.
But then—snap! Silvery spider-strings whipped through the air, wrapping around the cannon. Keyler stood firm, arms taut, holding it back. "You're not firing that today," he growled.
Olsen, bloodied and wheezing, hurled his hammer through the air. "CATCH IT!" The hammer spun, morphing mid-flight into a jagged axe, veins of energy pulsing. Keyler caught it one-handed, smirk flashing, still clutching the cannon-string.
With a pivot, the axe flew at Incarceration. He caught it mid-air, eyes narrowing. Without hesitation, he twisted and slammed it straight into Olsen's chest. CRACK! Blood geysered from Olsen's mouth. He collapsed, axe lodged deep. Barely alive, smoke drifting into the blood-red sky. Incarceration pressed his metal foot down, grinding him further into the dirt.
He rose, scanning the battlefield like a predator. Above, chaos raged. Celestianites—noble dragon-like warriors—fell like burning comets, wings torn, bodies trailing radiant blood. Each crash exploded into starlight and ash. Lunaranites swooped from above, metallic wings slicing through the sky, firing crescent beams that shredded the remnants of the air.
Across the battlefield, heroes lay broken, battered, bloodied. Only Jaylen remained—kneeling, drenched in blood, wings battered, tail limp. Yet his eyes burned with defiance.
Incarceration's grin widened. Cannon morphing with a mechanical SHHHK!!! into a blade nearly as tall as him, edges glowing dark red, he looked down at Jaylen. Around them, Ella, Demaurion, Keyler, and the rest lay helpless.
Incarceration knelt slowly, voice venomous. "You were brave… powerful… perhaps."
"No! N-NO!" Olsen rasped.
"I ANNOUNCE TO YOU ALL—" Incarceration's voice thundered, reverberating like seismic energy, "THIS PENALTY… WILL BE FATAL! AND HE… WILL DIE FOR THE GOOD OF US! THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME—" He stared down at him, smirk spreading.
"Have… my way…"
"DON'T KILL HIM!" Ella's cry broke the battlefield's tension.
Jaylen's wings twitched, golden feathers soaked in blood.
"…If I die… then I'll die for a good purpose…" he whispered.
Incarceration raised the sword slowly, gleaming with red energy. "Like he said… if he'll die, he'll die for a good cause. Bye… Jaylen the Celestianite."
Demaurion clawed toward him, screaming. "DON'T KILL HIM OR I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!"
Incarceration whispered one final time: "Bye."
The blade descended—SHWING!—time froze in horror. Hearts stopped. The imagined sound of the edge slicing through Jaylen's skull echoed like a nightmare.
Olsen flinched, Keyler face-down in dirt.
Then… Keyler's head twitched. Slowly, he blinked through the dirt. And a figure loomed above Jaylen. Don. Head down, crouched, hands gripping the sword's edge, stopping inches from Jaylen's skull.
Horns flared violet, tail swaying like a serpent of light, wings massive and divine.
Celestial energy crackled around him, lighting the battlefield with arcs of lightning.
The Celestianite corpses shimmered, awakened by his presence.
Even the Lunaranites hesitated.
Incarceration froze, jaw slack, eyes wide.
For the first time, he was stunned.
***
Don's Perspective
Close-up on my arms, glowing with celestial energy—ZZZZZZHHH!—flaring like molten fire, rippling as the power warped together.
Sparks crackled and danced across my skin—KRZZZ!—charging faster, vibrating as I slowly lifted my head. My eyes locked with Incarceration's. Energy whipped around me, shuddering like a storm.
"I'm back, bitch…" I whispered.
BAM! My uppercut launched him skyward—WHAM!—energy curving straight around him. My fists reeled back, trembling, then I opened my palm. A violet celestial beam tore outward—KRAAAAASH!—ripping through the clouds, striking him mid-air. The explosion rocked the sky—BOOOOOM! CLANG! SWOOSH!—blazing streaks lashed around as the dome spiraled upward, shaking the land. Winds lifted rocks, smashing them across the battlefield—CRASH! CLATTER!.
In the sky, he hovered, armor humming with red energy—VVVHHHH!—crimson eyes flaring. Blades of swirling energy spun around his palms.
He fired—WHROOOOOOOM!—a crimson line slicing through the clouds, twisting, spiraling, and slamming into the ground. The impact exploded into a massive dome of swirling energy—BOOM! WHUMP! SHHHK!—ripping the earth apart. Ground cracked, jagged rocks snapping as the wind tore at the battlefield. I swiped the smoke away and assumed a fighting stance, energy rising around me like molten smoke. My fists trembled as power erupted outward.
I roared—"RRRRAAAHHH!"—light and energy pulsating, whipping, shaking everything nearby. I shot forward in a blur, streaking through clouds—WHOOSH! BAM!—slamming into him. Red streaks cut through mountains, shattering peaks outward—CRAAAACK! BOOM!. I warped behind a tumbling mountain, violet streak following me. He twisted, uppercutting me—WHAM! KRAASH!—flinging me through the air. I flipped, collided mid-air, shockwaves rippling across the terrain—THWOOOM!.
I whipped to the side, dodged his grab, but he caught my head—GRAB!—hurled me through clouds, slamming me into a mountain—KRAAAASH! BOOOOM! The impact sent jagged shockwaves tearing through peaks. A red beam split the sky—ZZZZZKRAAA!—shredding clouds. It struck the mountain where I landed, crumbling it—RUMBLE! BOOM! CRACK!—explosions rippling outward.
I flashed out as a violet streak, slicing through the sky—WHOOSH! SWOOSH!—intercepting him. Energy clashed around us—CRASH! BAM! ZZZHHH!—as we exchanged a flurry of blurred punches. He grabbed me, spiraled, slammed me through clouds—WHUMP! KRAAA!—red streaks twisting, tearing the sky apart.
I blinked forward, violet streak flashing in front, dodging rapid kicks and punches—SKRAK! WHAM! He was a tornado of red energy, charging upward—VVVHHHH! WHOOOSH!—slamming into me, grabbing my head, thrashing me left and right—THWACK! BOOM! WHOOOM!—tossing me aside.
I countered with a curving kick and an uppercut—BAM! KRAAA!—mountains blurred past as the shockwaves cascaded.
He spiraled, tornado-kicking me through a peak—WHHHRRR! CRACK!—violet streak slashed it in half. His red streaks blasted through, splitting terrain—BOOM! RRRRZZZK! Incarceration blitzed over me—ZZZZHHHH! WHAM!—legs slamming into my chest, red streak slicing downward.
Mountains split, crumbled, and tore apart—CRAAACK! BOOOOM! SHHHK!
***
He slammed into the ground from above—BOOOOM! WHAAM!—my body shuddering from the impact. His energy rippled outward—ZZZZHHH!—spiraling wildly, lashes of red light whipping through the mountains, shredding rock as the land vibrated beneath us. He grabbed me by the head—GRAB!—slamming me against a mountain. CRAAAASH! The peak exploded in a flare of red energy, shards flying outward, smoke and dust curling like fire. He fired a blast—KRAAAASH!—and I vanished, flipping behind the impact as the ground trembled and split beneath me. Violet streaks tore through the air, twisting backward from mountain to mountain.
From afar, Incarceration's hand pulsed—VVVHHHH!—red energy spiraling, raging, coalescing into a massive ripping beam. The saw-like beam cut between the peaks—ZZZZKRAAA!—igniting mountains, shaking the land, carving light into the battlefield. I twisted and flipped, mountain to mountain—WHOOSH! BAM!—the beam slicing inches from my face.
I teleported—ZZZZH!—landing right in front of him, spinning into a celestial tornado kick, the ground erupting beneath me and launching him backward—BOOM! WHAM! The beam behind struck a mountain—CRAAAASH! BOOOOM!—sending a shockwave rolling outward. A red dome expanded—WHUMP! KRRZZK!—tearing across the battlefield. Energy lashes whipped violently, consuming everything in its path.
Behind me, the violet glow pulsed rapidly, swallowing the surroundings in waves of power—ZZZZHHHH! SWOOSH! CLANG!. I planted a foot—THUD!—celestial energy flaring as I dug into the ground. Clenching my fists, they swirled, merging as I smirked. From afar, Incarceration stood, battered but defiant, armor gleaming. His red eyes flared—VVVHHHH!—locking onto my violet gaze.
The wind howled past us—WHOOSH!—and I chuckled. "You notice anything?" I called. He groaned, cannon twisting, energy pulsing—VRRRRHHH! "You've… gotten stronger… last time, you were weaker than a fly—" "You can call me as weak as a fly," I snapped, clenching my fists, "but you don't see all the destruction we've caused across this area!" A breath, a pause—I smirked.
"You know… maybe I should've gone for the head." I flashed forward—ZZZHHH!—daggers slicing clean through the air. SWISH! BAM! Incarceration's head fell to the ground, rolling slowly—CLATTER!—while his body collapsed backward, struggling to stay upright, energy flaring and boiling around me—ZZZZKRAAA!
I turned, surveying the wreckage. Smoke and debris swirled, mountains shredded, the battlefield twisted in chaos. "Heh… he was right after all," I muttered. My body flashed—ZZZZH!—leaving the battlefield in ruins, violet streaks lingering in the air as silence and destruction settled over the shattered land.